SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Sally Keeble: To ask the Solicitor-General what mechanisms are in place to improve contact between the Crown Prosecution Service and victims of crime.

Mike O'Brien: Under the Prosecutor's Pledge introduced in October 2006, all Prosecutors are required to protect the interests of victims from charge to Appeal. Prosecutors are required to explain the reasons for altering a charge or dropping it and may need to meet a victim to do so.

Sentences

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps he is taking to change the way sentences are explained in court to make them more understandable to the public.

Mike O'Brien: The Home Secretary, Lord Chancellor and Attorney-General, jointly issued a consultation paper, "Making Sentencing Clearer" in November last year, which addressed this very issue as part of our wider debate on sentencing. The consultation period has only just concluded (9 January 2007); the views of all respondents will be carefully considered before firm proposals are drawn up.

Sentences

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will seek a legislative opportunity to extend the period allowed after sentencing for victims and their families to consider requesting the Attorney-General to seek a review of sentences.

Mike O'Brien: No, the Government have no plans to extend the 28-day limit for the Law Officers to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal for review if of the opinion that the sentence was unduly lenient.

Prostitution

Peter Bone: To ask the Solicitor-General what guidance the Crown Prosecution Service has issued on the prosecution of cases involving prostitution.

Mike O'Brien: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has issued detailed policy guidance to Crown prosecutors dealing with both on and off street prostitution and a range of associated issues. As well as setting out the relevant law and procedure, the guidance covers public interest factors to be taken into account when considering whether to charge an individual with a prostitution-related offence. The guidance emphasises that a child prostitute should generally be treated as a victim of abuse, with the focus being on those who exploit and coerce them.
	In addressing the advertising of prostitute services through placing cards in telephone boxes, Crown prosecutors can use the antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in circumstances where an individual has been repeatedly convicted of the 'carding' offence. The CPS has issued comprehensive guidance on this legislation.
	The CPS recognises that prostitutes can also be victims, particularly those who are trafficked from abroad for the purposes of prostitution. Further specific guidance which focuses on trafficking for sexual exploitation has been issued to Crown prosecutors to assist in handling these cases. The guidance covers support to victims who are clearly traumatised and physically and psychologically affected by events.

Induced Road Traffic Accidents

Richard Bacon: To ask the Solicitor-General what the policy is of the prosecuting authorities in relation to induced and staged road traffic accidents; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Induced and staged road traffic accidents are perpetrated in order that substantial fraudulent claims can be made to insurance companies. In addition, offenders often make false claims to state benefit based on injuries that they claim to have suffered. This criminal activity has been found to have links with serious organised criminal gangs.
	The fact that innocent road users are effectively targeted and endangered is a matter of considerable concern, as is the significant financial impact on insurers estimated to run into hundreds of millions of pounds which is then passed on to members of the public through increased premiums.
	The Crown Prosecution Service applies the Code for Crown Prosecutors, considering each case on its merits. If, in a particular case, the evidential test is met, there is likely to be a strong public interest to prosecute as the offence will usually have been premeditated, involve a group acting together, the potential or actual pecuniary advantage will be great, and importantly, there will be a real risk or actual occurrence of physical injury to another.

Serious Fraud Office

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Solicitor-General in which countries the Serious Fraud Office has provided assistance in corruption cases in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Serious Fraud Office has provided assistance to eight countries since 2002 in 11 separate investigations.
	The Serious Fraud Office does not disclose details of assistance provided to overseas investigations without consent from the referring jurisdiction or unless the referring jurisdiction has made public disclosures. The requests for assistance already in the public domain were from France, Norway and Uganda.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Claimants

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants had their benefit claim incorrectly terminated due to being wrongly classified as deceased in each year where figures are available, broken down by benefit; and what total amount of benefit was underpaid as a result.

James Plaskitt: The information is not collected centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Benefit Simplification Unit

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are employed in the Benefit Simplification Unit.

James Plaskitt: There are currently five staff employed on a full time basis in the Benefit Simplification Unit, with additional input from a further two members of staff including a senior civil servant.

Departmental Staff

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of staff employed in his Department were registered disabled in each year since 2001.

Anne McGuire: Please find the requested information in the following table:
	The information is representative of the disabled status as declared by individual members of staff. Not all staff who are registered disabled declare themselves as such for departmental records, and the true figure may be higher than the figures shown.
	Until 2005 the proportion of disabled staff is shown as a proportion of all staff. The numbers of staff in 2006 are however, based on the proportion of all staff who have declared their disability status(1).
	The Department for Work and Pensions was created in July 2001, and figures prior to 2002 were unobtainable.
	
		
			   Staff  Disabled staff  Percentage of disabled staff 
			 2006 119,764 6,422 5.4 
			 2005 128,534 6,703 5.2 
			 2004 137,772 7,066 5.1 
			 2003 138,774 6,999 5.0 
			 2002 133,451 7,273 5.4 
			 (1) The change was made in response to new guidance from the Cabinet Office requiring us to only include staff who have made a declaration about their disability status. The figures from 2006 onwards will therefore exclude all staff who have chosen not to declare whether they are disabled.

Error Task Force

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many staff are employed in the Error Task Force;
	(2)  what targets have been set for the Error Task Force;
	(3)  what the total  (a) set-up and  (b) running costs have been of the Error Task Force;
	(4)  what the total value is of erroneous benefit payments identified by the Error Task Force.

James Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 8 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1627W.

Housing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people in each local authority area are in receipt of the single room rate of housing benefit; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The information has been placed in the Library.

Ministerial Visits

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which Ministers in his Department have visited Leicester in the last year; and where they visited in Leicester.

Anne McGuire: On the 6 March 2006 the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Mr. Plaskitt) gave a speech to the National Association of Pension Funds at the offices of KPMG, 1 Waterloo Way, Leicester. The Minister for Pensions Reform visited the Leicester Pension Centre on the 4 September 2006 as part of the Regional road show.
	All ministerial visits are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.

Pathways to Work

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost is per participant of the pathways to work pilots.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 6 December 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 7 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1170W.

Unemployment Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the level of unemployment benefit/jobseeker's allowance was as a percentage of average earnings in  (a) 1976-77 and  (b) 2006-07; what percentage he expects it to be in 2020-21; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: In 1976 unemployment benefit was the equivalent of 20 per cent. of the average gross weekly earnings for a single person. In 2006 jobseeker's allowance (contributory-based) is the equivalent of 11 per cent. of the average gross weekly earnings for a single person. The percentage level for 2020-21 will depend on future movements in earnings levels, and the ratio of benefit payment.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Opposition Groups

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what political opposition groups in developing countries have received funding from his Department since 2002.

Hilary Benn: Effective states and good governance are essential to combatting poverty, and vital to good governance is an open and transparent political system, with strong political institutions. This means that in some countries, we have provided support to political groups, including political parties, to strengthen their capacity to engage in the political process. Support is not given on the basis of whether a party is in opposition, and will generally be available to all parties who are engaging in the political process. It is not partisan and must contribute to DFID's aim of poverty reduction. It is often one part of a broader programme to strengthen political systems or as part of preparations for elections.
	DFID does not keep a central record of support to political parties but the following are some examples of support which has been provided.
	In the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN programmes partly funded by DFID have provided capacity building support for political parties generally and women candidates in particular. This included supporting women candidates to participate in the electoral process and was available to all women candidates regardless of party.
	In Zambia, DFID provided funding to train members of political parties to conduct training on electoral procedures and the role of party agents during elections. The parties then carried out the training themselves.
	In Mozambique, DFID funded training on electoral campaigning for all registered parties.
	In Kenya, during the 2005 referendum on the Constitution, DFID, together with other donors, worked with the Electoral Commission to fund poll agents for both the yes and no groups.
	The Political Parties in Central America, Panama and Dominican Republic project, funded by DFID and other donors, aims to contribute to political parties responding with greater efficiency to promoting good governance and sustainable development with equity, deepening of Democracy, and the fight against poverty.

PRIME MINISTER

Declarations of War

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister whether it is his policy that in future the House will be asked to vote before the UK declares war on another country; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the right hon. Member to the Government Response to the House of Lords Constitution Committee's Report: "Waging War: Parliament's role and responsibility" (Cm 6923). Copies are available in the Libraries of the House. I also refer the right hon. Member to the answers given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 8 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 18-21.

Downing Street Ministerial Flat

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W, on the Downing street Ministerial Flat, if he will break down the maintenance expenditure for 2005-06 by main budget heading.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W.

Entertainment Budget

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what the total cost was of official entertainment by the Prime Minister at 10 Downing street and Chequers in 2005-06.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Members for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) and for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on 11 October 2006,  Official Report, column 788W.

Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Prime Minister on which occasions the Cross of Saint George is flown from Number 10 Downing street.

Tony Blair: The Union Flag and other national flags are flown above Downing street as and when appropriate.

Foreign Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what No. 10 Downing street's expenditure on foreign travel, including accommodation, was in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W.

Minister without Portfolio

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what the role and responsibilities are of the Minister without Portfolio.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the List of Ministerial Responsibilities, copies of which are available on the Cabinet Office website and in the Library of the House.

NORTHERN IRELAND

GCSE

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children from an  (a) Protestant and  (b) Roman Catholic community background left school with fewer than five GCSE qualifications at grades A to C in the last year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The requested information relates to the 2004-05 school year and is as follows:
	 (a) 4,232 (39.3 per cent. of Protestant school leavers)
	 (b) 4,566 (35.9 per cent. of Roman Catholic school leavers)

Justice and Policing Services

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met Northern Ireland party leaders to discuss the devolution of justice and policing services.

Peter Hain: I keep in regular contact with party leaders to discuss the devolution of justice and policing and have met the Assembly's Preparation for Government Committee—most recently on 9 January 2007. There remain a number of issues for the parties to resolve, and the Government will offer such assistance as it can to that end.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 session were not answered wholly or in part on grounds of disproportionate cost.

Peter Hain: The information requested is not readily available and would require a manual trawl of over 6,000 parliamentary questions tabled to the Northern Ireland Office in the first session.
	My Department endeavours to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of tabling and named day questions on the date specified.
	This month, however, a number of improvements have been made to my Department's procedures for handling parliamentary questions. This includes improvements to the existing electronic system for tracking parliamentary questions which should allow for the provision of statistical data in due course.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 session were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before Prorogation.

Peter Hain: In the last session, over 6,000 parliamentary questions were tabled for answer by my Department. Of these, 26 were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before Prorogation. Members remain free to re-table any unanswered questions.

Reoffending Rates

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of all those convicted of a sexual offence went on to reoffend  (a) during and  (b) after their period of remission in each of the last five years, broken down into risk management categories A, B and C.

David Hanson: While information is available on the number of reconvictions of sex offenders within a two-year period, the recorded information does not show whether the reoffending took place during or after a period of remission. Later this year, I shall be bringing forward legislation to remove automatic remission for sex offenders and to strengthen the processes for the management of the risk posed by sex offenders released from custody.

Saintfield Bypass

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the provision of a bypass for Saintfield, County Down.

David Cairns: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	 Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 11 January 2007:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding, what plans he has for the provision of a by-pass for Saintfield, County Down. As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	The A7 Trunk Road, which links the Belfast Metropolitan Area to Downpatrick, is the main traffic route passing through Saintfield and is designated as a Link Corridor in the Regional Strategic Transport Network. Roads Service's plans for improvements to the Strategic Road Network are contained in the Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan 2015 (RSTN TP), which was published in March 2005 following a period of extensive consultation. The Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland envisages a further £400 million of major works schemes within the RSTN Plan period and Roads Service recently consulted on "Expanding the Strategic Road improvement Programme 2015".
	While consideration of the responses received in relation to the latter consultation is ongoing, I can advise that a by-pass for Saintfield was not included in the proposals. As you will be aware there are many competing demands for the resources within this funding envelope and the provision of a by-pass for Saintfield would not attract a high priority when compared with the proposals for improvements elsewhere on the Strategic Road Network.
	However, I can advise that improvements to the A7 by way of the provision of a number of Widened Single Carriageway (2 + 1) schemes are proposed within the RSTN TP. These schemes, when completed, will provide guaranteed overtaking opportunities and improve safety on the route.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Departmental Staff

Simon Burns: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many posts in the House of Commons attracted a salary in excess of the basic salary of an hon. Member; what the job titles are of those posts; and what the salary is in each case.

Nick Harvey: The basic salary payable to Members is £60,277 per annum. At 31 December 2006, 79 staff were paid an annual salary in excess of this figure. A list of posts in the Senior Commons Structure and at pay band Al, which have pay maxima higher than Members' current salary, will be placed in the Library. Details of staff pay bands and staff pay arrangements are available on the parliamentary intranet. The salaries of Members of the Board of Management are disclosed in the House of Commons: Administration annual accounts.

TRANSPORT

Disability Discrimination: Aviation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with  (a) British Airways and  (b) other airlines on disability discrimination legislation and seat allocations.

Gillian Merron: Ministers meet British Airways and other airlines on a regular basis to discuss a range of policy matters, though there have been no specific discussions on seat allocations. British Airways and other airlines also attend meetings of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, the Government's statutory adviser on the transport needs of disabled people.

M42

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the introduction of hard shoulder running on the M42, with particular reference to road safety.

Stephen Ladyman: M42 hard shoulder running was introduced on 12 September 2006 as part of the Active Traffic Management project. Operations are being closely monitored to ensure that the systems are working efficiently and that any potential issues that might compromise road safety are quickly resolved.
	Early evaluation of the impact of hard shoulder running on traffic conditions is showing that average journey times during peak periods have been reduced. The day-to-day variability of journey times has reduced on weekdays, meaning users can plan their journeys better. There is reduced congestion on the section and average traffic speeds have been smoothed so that more drivers are travelling at around 50 mph. This has helped reduce the severity of traffic flow breakdown and improved road safety. Speed differentials between lanes have reduced, suggesting that drivers are less likely to change lanes unnecessarily, thereby improving road safety.
	Early indications are therefore, that the scheme is working well, but it is too early to draw final conclusions of the impact of hard shoulder running on the safety of the section. This is because motorways are generally very safe and incidents occur infrequently. Early information will be provided following collection of six months of personal injury accident data. This is expected by autumn 2007.

M42

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the experimental use of the hard shoulder on the M42 motorway as an additional lane for moving traffic.

Stephen Ladyman: M42 hard shoulder running was introduced on 12 September 2006 as part of the Active Traffic Management (ATM) project.
	The Highways Agency is monitoring the impact of hard shoulder running and early indications have determined that average journey times during peak periods have been reduced. The day-to-day variability of journey times has also been reduced on weekdays meaning that users can plan their journeys better. Congestion has been reduced on the section and average traffic speeds have been smoothed so that more drivers are travelling at around 50 mph. This have helped reduce flow breakdown and has therefore improved road safety. Speed differential between lanes has been reduced, suggesting that drivers will be less likely to change lanes unnecessarily, therefore improving road safety.
	These results are indicative of the potential impact of hard shoulder running, but robust conclusions cannot be drawn until at least six months of reliable data have been collected. The assessment of traffic conditions will be produced by autumn 2007.

Roads Expenditure

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on the trunk road networks in the area covered by the Government Office of the North East in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: The trunk road networks of the North East are part of the strategic road network managed by the Highways Agency whose reporting systems do not provide information on a county or regional basis.

Toll Roads

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to increase the number of toll roads in  (a) Staffordshire and  (b) the Midlands.

Stephen Ladyman: There are no plans to build any new toll roads in Staffordshire or the Midlands.
	The Government are exploring the scope for road pricing to help tackle road congestion. In the Midlands, the Government have awarded the metropolitan authorities in the West Midlands, and local authorities in the cities of Nottingham, Leicester and Derby and their surrounding counties, funding to study the nature of their congestion problem and the potential road pricing-based packages to address it. No proposals have been put forward and no decisions have been made.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

2012 Olympics

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 99-100W, on the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, whether VAT costs for the Olympics were mentioned in  (a) the 2002 ARUP London Olympics 2012 Costs and Benefits report,  (b) the 2003 PricewaterhouseCoopers London 2012 Costs and Benefits report,  (c) the 2004 PricewaterhouseCoopers Olympic Cost Review and  (d) the advice provided in the Olympic report by KPMG.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 13 December 2006
	The cost of VAT was not assessed in the ARUP report or either of the two PricewaterhouseCoopers reports because no decision at that stage could be made about VAT in relation to the proposed establishment of an Olympic Delivery Authority which we had not yet legislated for and the tax status of which had yet to be determined. KPMG included an assessment of VAT costs as part of the ongoing advice that I commissioned.

Maps Theft

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what co-operation there was between the US authorities and her Department before and after the conviction of Mr. E. Forbes Smiley III for theft of historic maps; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of such co-operation in minimising future such thefts.

David Lammy: My Department was not involved with the prosecution in the US of Mr. E. Forbes Smiley III. The British Library Board is responsible for its collections and therefore was involved with the case through the Metropolitan police, who co-operated with the FBI investigation, and through their US Counsel. The British Library's director of scholarship and collections made a victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing in New Haven. The British Library's willingness to participate in a prosecution outside of the UK may act as a deterrent to future thefts.

Maps Theft

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the possible implications for the security of national archives of the facts revealed in the conviction in the US of Mr. E. Forbes Smiley III.

David Lammy: None. As the institution involved in this case, the British Library has reviewed its security procedures in the Rare Books Reading Room and shared issues with peer institutions in the UK through the British and Irish Committee on Map Information and Cataloguing Systems (BRICMICS).

Maps Theft

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will undertake research to establish and record books containing rare and valuable maps available in generalist British archives.

David Lammy: No. Each institution has its own cataloguing system and it would be costly to combine them. It would also be highly unlikely to act as a deterrent or help to prevent theft.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum Seekers

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider the merits of allowing failed asylum seekers who are too frightened to agree to support under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to continue to receive support from the National Asylum Support Service.

Liam Byrne: Asylum seekers whose applications have been refused and whose appeal rights are exhausted have been found not to require international protection. They are therefore required to leave the UK. Section 4 support is available to failed asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute and for whom there is a temporary barrier to leaving the UK. This includes the provision of accommodation where this is necessary for the purpose of avoiding a breach of a person's Convention rights, within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Drug Intervention Programme

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the accuracy is in percentage terms of devices used to screen individuals under his Department's Drug Intervention Programme.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 18 December 2006
	The Drug Interventions Programme uses an oral fluid drug testing system capable of screening for opiates and crack/cocaine. The current equipment supplier is Cozart Bioscience Ltd.
	The Home Office monitors the performance of the equipment provided by Cozart Bioscience Ltd and this arrangement is part of the contractual requirement, two in every 100 samples are required to be sent to the independent confirmatory testing service for quality assurance. Management data over a six month period consistently demonstrate that more than 98 per cent. of samples analysed by the independent confirmatory testing service are confirmed as accurate.
	In addition to internal monitoring, scientific studies confirm the effectiveness of the oral fluid drug testing method (refs) and independent peer reviewed scientific papers have been published confirming the accuracy of the Cozart Rapiscan oral fluid drug testing system (refs).

Government Art Collection

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of artwork commissioned by the Government Art Collection for installation in the new Home Office building.

Liam Byrne: £55,260 including installation costs and VAT where payable has been spent so far on the Interior Art Strategy at 2 Marsham Street.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green of 26 October 2006 regarding a constituent Mr. Swetang Joshi (Home Office reference J1012195).

Liam Byrne: I wrote to the hon. Member on 8 January 2007.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners and what proportion of the prison population  (a) were sentenced for drugs offences and  (b) were imprisoned for committing an offence which was in some way drug-related in each year since 1997 for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In response to  (a), information on the numbers and proportion of offenders held within prison establishments in England and Wales in each year since 1997 can be found in the following table which is taken from table 8.2 of the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005 which can be accessed at the following website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1806.pdf
	In response to  (b), comprehensive information is not available in the form requested. However, the Criminality Survey in 2000 produced findings based on a representative sample of recently arrived male prisoners (excluding sex offenders) who had been sentenced during February and March 2000 which showed that nearly three quarters of prisoners in the sample had taken an illegal drug in the 12 months pre-prison; of these, over half (55 per cent.) reported that they had committed offences connected to their drug taking.
	Results of research into this area can be found in the publication "Prisoners' drug use before prison and links with crime", by Liriano, S. and Ramsay, M. (2003), a Home Office Research Study.
	The figures provided in answer to  (a) have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual, the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Population in prison establishments( 1)  in England and Wales since 1997 for drugs offences 
			  As at 30 June each year  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Total prisoners under immediate custodial sentence 48,674 52,159 51,293 53,093 54,169 57,272 59,393 60,924 62,179 
			 Drug offences 7,174 7,893 8,169 8,473 9,148 10,067 10,330 10,486 10,661 
			 Drug offences as percentage of total 15 15 16 16 17 18 17 17 17 
			 (1) Excluding police cells.  Note:  Data Sources and Quality These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and so although shown to the last individual, the figures may not be accurate to that level.  Source: Table 8.2 of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many years of experience the previous Head of Operations at HM Prison Pentonville had in the operations area when appointed to the post; what training he received in  (a) intelligence analysis,  (b) informant handling and  (c) the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The previous Head of Operations had six years prison service experience and had appropriate experience for the post.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which establishments members of the investigation team in respect of the allegations of staff wrongdoing at HM Prison Pentonville have been drawn; what the grades are of the team members; what positions they hold; what training has been provided to each member of the team in the areas of  (a) intelligence analysis,  (b) informant handling and  (c) the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: All four investigators are senior manager D grades, and they have been drawn from Feltham, Wormwood Scrubs, Wandsworth and Holloway. Three of the investigators are deputy governors and one is head of safety.
	It is for the commissioning officer to satisfy himself that investigators have the relevant experience and training, and both the governor and area manager are satisfied that this is the case in this investigation.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff searches were undertaken at HM Prison Pentonville in each of the last 12 months; how many unauthorised articles were found on staff in each case; what action was taken against staff found in possession of unauthorised articles in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of searches undertaken at Pentonville prison 
			  Month 2006  Number of searches  Staff searched 
			 January 2 419 
			 February 3 417 
			 March 2 317 
			 April 3 455 
			 May 2 324 
			 June 1 193 
			 July 2 155 
			 August 1 79 
			 September 1 195 
			 October 1 174 
			 November 1 287 
			 December 1 113 
			 Note: Authorised articles are those identified Governor's Order on Authorised Articles. Staff found in possession of unauthorised articles would, for minor cases, be interviewed by a member of the security department and/or written to. No unauthorised articles discovered required police involvement.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether those conducting the investigation into alleged staff wrongdoing at HM Prison Pentonville have requested the involvement of the Metropolitan police; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Those conducting the investigations have had limited involvement with the Metropolitan police. It would not be appropriate to provide detail on the precise nature of the involvement.

Probation Officers

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vacant positions for probation officers there are in (a) Stockport and (b) England.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Not all Probation Areas in the National Probation Service operate a set establishment against which vacant posts can be measured. As a more representative alternative, Probation Areas are required to report regularly on the number of active vacancies they have. An active vacancy is one which a Probation Area is actively trying to fill through a recruitment process.
	Staffing information is collected by Probation Area, and is not collected centrally in sufficient detail to allow figures for sub sections within Probation Areas to be presented separately.
	Figures for 31 March 2006 show that there were a total of 8,262.50 full time equivalent Probation Officers in post in England and Wales. On the same date there were 227.70 full time equivalent vacancies that were actively being recruited to. Therefore active vacancies accounted for 2.68 per cent. of the total posts available at that time.
	Additionally, the National Probation Service employs 6,544.28 full time equivalent probation service officers, who also deliver front-line services to offenders. At this time, there were 347.30 full time equivalent vacancies, equating to 5.04 per cent. of the total posts available.
	We are not able to provide a similar breakdown for the Greater Manchester Probation Area as they are currently unable to provide data on active vacancies(1).
	(1) The current HR system in use at Greater Manchester is unable to identify which posts are vacant. Work is on-going to rectify this position and it is anticipated that the implementation of a new version of their HR System by March 2007 will enable the Area to begin reporting the position on vacancies at that time.

Terrorism

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to collate information on the number of individuals convicted of terrorist crimes  (a) since 2000 and  (b) in the future.

Tony McNulty: The provision of security advice and training, and to whom this is provided, is kept under regular review.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long  (a) Antoinette Lynch (Home Office reference ZH/21065676),  (b) Pathrine Roberts (Home Office reference CEU/1108591),  (c) Scarlett Megwy (Home Office reference ZH/1166113) and  (d) Natasha Ngirincuti (Home Office reference ASC/919985) have been detained at Yarl's Wood; what the reasons are for maintaining their detention; when each had her last bail hearing; and if he will order their release on temporary admission with conditions.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 8 January 2007
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 8 January 2007.

WALES

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on advertising with  The Guardian newspaper, including online, in the last year for which figures are available.

Peter Hain: The total amount spent on advertising with  The Guardian newspaper, including on line for the Wales Office, in 2006 was £3,565.34.

Energy Technologies Institute

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the location of the Energy Technologies Institute; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters including the location of the Energy Technologies Institute. I understand that there are plans to establish the institute at various locations in the UK rather that at any one particular location. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Board is currently giving the matter careful consideration and will reach a decision on locations in due course.
	The institute's remit is to accelerate the development of secure, reliable and cost-effective low-carbon energy technologies towards commercial deployment. The institute will play a major role in technology developments internationally in support of the UK's climate change goals.
	On 14 September 2006, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry published a prospectus setting out the aims of the institute to attract additional private sector investors. An open information event was held on 11 October 2006, to attract wide participation not only by possible private sector investors, but also by those interested in collaborating in the work of the institute or hosting it.
	The DTI has announced that it is prepared to provide .£500 million, creating the potential for a £1 billion institute over 10 years. The Energy Research Partnership, under the joint chairmanship of Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK, and Sir David King, has committed itself to raising substantial sums of private investment. EDF Energy, Shell, BP and E.ON UK have already announced their intention to be involved.

Further Education and Training Bill

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly on pre-legislative scrutiny of the provisions of the Further Education and Training Bill [ Lords] as they relate to Wales.

Peter Hain: The Bill has already received its Second Reading in the House of Lords on 13 December 2006. Members of both Houses will be able to scrutinise and suggest amendments to the Bill during its remaining parliamentary passage, including in relation to the provisions for Wales.
	To assist parliamentary scrutiny, all framework powers granting wider and more permissive powers to the Assembly will be accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out the policy context underlying the proposals. Copies will be sent to all Welsh MPs and will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	An explanatory memorandum relating to the framework power in the Further Education and Training Bill will be published shortly by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Office in 2006, broken down by  (a) ordinary written and  (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specified date.

Peter Hain: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) 515 ordinary written question—85.63 per cent.
	 (b) 19 named day questions—94.73 per cent.

Pre-Budget Report

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Minister for Wales on the pre-Budget report insofar as it affects the block grant for Wales.

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of topics, including the pre-Budget report.
	On 13 December 2006 the Assembly Government's budget plans were approved. These set out increased spending for 2007-08 of £836 million more than 2006-07. This included £9.3 million announced in the pre-Budget report. The extra resources will support the delivery of public services across Wales.
	I welcome these plans which include the following allocations:
	£9.6 million special grant to schools
	£2 million to help schools meet the increased cost of energy
	£2 million to provide core funding to hospices
	£6 million to help higher education institutions meet the overhead costs of charitable research and equal pay agreements
	£1.5 million to provide extra women's refuges, children's services and sexual abuse counselling
	£1 million to support more play facilities for disabled children
	£0.5 million to provide extra support for foster carers
	£1.4 million to meet the cost of pensions for fire fighters
	£1.7 million extra into the revenue support grant for local authorities to support children with special educational needs and autism

Welsh Consumer Council

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to safeguard the policy development and advocacy of functions on the new Welsh Consumer Council.

Peter Hain: The Consumers Estate Agents and Redress Bill which is currently before Parliament provides for stronger and more effective consumer advocacy and redress.
	The proposals relating to the Welsh and Scottish Consumer Councils are intended to avoid fragmentation in consumer advocacy. However, the Government are aware of concerns that the Welsh and Scottish Consumer Councils should keep functions of policy development and advocacy, rather than depending on the National Consumer Council to delegate to them.
	The Government are giving this issue further consideration.

TREASURY

Charity and Third Sector

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants are employed to work to support the Treasury's Office of Charity and Third Sector.

Dawn Primarolo: The Charity and Third Sector Finance Unit in HM Treasury directly employs 8.3 full-time equivalent civil servants as at 1 January 2007.

Charity and Third Sector

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Treasury's Office of Charity and Third Sector liaises with the charity v as part of its work.

Dawn Primarolo: The Charity and Third Sector Finance Unit in HM Treasury has regular contact with the charity v, as part of the Government's ambitions to promote youth volunteering.

Child Care Vouchers

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the findings of the survey of employers commissioned by his Department from the National Centre for Social Research on estimated take-up of tax free child care vouchers among employers and their employees.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government published the report on 6 December. It is available on HM Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/research-report23.htm

European Commission: Special Tax Rates

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the special rates of tax applied to European Commission employees.

Dawn Primarolo: The taxation of personnel employed by the EU institutions, including the Commission, is governed by the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities. The UK Government are a party to the Protocol as it forms part of the treaty on the European Union and the treaty establishing the European Community and there are no current plans to amend it.

Family Income: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many estates in Tamworth constituency paid inheritance tax in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Figures for estates paying inheritance tax are not available at local levels.

Family Income: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much was spent on working tax credit for families living in Tamworth constituency in each year since its introduction;
	(2)  how many families in Tamworth constituency are in receipt of working tax credit; and what the average weekly payment is for such families.

Dawn Primarolo: In reply to the question regarding expenditure of working tax credits in the Tamworth constituency I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington, North (Helen Jones) on 30 November 2006,  Official Report, column 844W.
	The number of families in receipt of working tax credit, at December 2006 in the Tamworth constituency, is estimated at 2,700.
	Information on average weekly tax credit payments to families receiving working tax credit is not available at constituency level.
	However, the average annualised entitlement for in-work families receiving working tax credit in the Tamworth constituency in 2004-05, is  (a) £1,830 for families receiving working tax credit only and  (b) £6,217 for families receiving both working tax credit and child tax credit.

Greater London Tax Exports

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate HM Treasury has made of the annual net export of taxes to the rest of the UK from Greater London.

Dawn Primarolo: No such estimate has been made by the Treasury.

HM Revenue and Customs

David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many items of  (a) external and  (b) internal correspondence at the large processing offices of HM Revenue and Customs remain (i) unopened and (ii) unprocessed.

Dawn Primarolo: Correspondence received in the large processing offices at HMRC is opened on the day of receipt. HMRC have calculated that as at close of business on 5 January there were 356,429 items of external correspondence and 100,610 items of internal correspondence to be processed.

HM Revenue and Customs

David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days were lost through staff sickness at the offices of HM Revenue and Customs and the Inland Revenue in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: Details relating to staff sickness absence in these Departments for 2003 to 2005 can be found at:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/occupational_health/publications/index.asp
	Data for 2006 are not yet available.

Ministerial Visits

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1747W, on visits, if he will list each such visit in the last 18 months, broken down by  (a) Minister and  (b) tax credit facility; and when each minister last visited (i) tax credit, (ii) contact centre and (iii) IT development offices in each of the last 18 months.

Dawn Primarolo: Treasury Ministers pay visits to the departments and agencies for which we are responsible and discuss a wide range of issues with the officials concerned. This is an integral part of our day-to-day routine. It is not our usual practice to provide details of all Ministers' meetings with staff.

NSI Interest Rates

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the relationship is between the interest rates provided on the National Saving and Investments'  (a) Easy Access and  (b) investment savings account and the Bank of England base rate; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: Movement in the Bank of England base rate is one of a number of factors taken into account when setting interest rates on the NS&I Easy Access Savings Account and Investment Account. The other factors include the administration costs of running the product, the rates offered by competitors on similar products, and the interest rates offered on other NS&I products.

Private Medical Insurance

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has been raised from  (a) pensioners and  (b) pensioners over the age of 75 arising from taxation of private medical insurance provided by their previous employers since April 2006.

Edward Balls: As part of a radical simplification of the taxation of registered pension schemes the Finance Act 2004 made changes to the taxation of benefits, such as private medical insurance, provided after retirement outside of a registered pension scheme. A regulatory impact assessment ("Regulatory Impact Assessment for Simplifying the taxation of pensions—Update") was published on 22 March 2006 setting out the Government's assessment of the impact of pensions simplification. This is available at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/ria/ria-pensions-simplification.pdf.
	The Government estimate that pensions simplification will have an overall cost to the Exchequer building up to £250 million per year.

Tax Exemptions

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of how many tax exemptions his Department has made no estimate of the cost to the Exchequer.

Dawn Primarolo: A list of the direct tax exemptions for which insufficient data exist upon which to base any reliable estimate is published on the HMRC website.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax expenditures/00ap_b2.htm
	Exemptions from VAT can be found in Schedule 9 of the VAT Act 1994.
	Estimates have not been made of six of the fifteen exemptions.

Tax Self-assessment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if his Department will undertake research to assess the extent to which individuals understand tax self-assessment forms;
	(2)  what steps his Department has undertaken to simplify the tax self-assessment form;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of the cost in time spent by  (a) individuals and  (b) his Department to process and complete tax self-assessment forms;
	(4)  what estimate his Department has made of the average length of time it takes to complete a tax self-assessment form.

Dawn Primarolo: Following a review of self assessment forms within HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), work has been undertaken to make the self assessment return easier for customers to complete. This includes:
	The introduction of a four-page short tax return, with shorter simpler guidance, for 1.5 million people within self assessment with relatively straight forward tax affairs;
	From April 2008 a redesigned main tax return will be introduced. This new version of the tax return will be shorter for most people, and will be simpler and easier to complete because it asks for less information, has clearer explanations and makes greater use of plain English;
	Improvements to the online self assessment return to make navigation easier, improve the layout, and enhance the customer experience of completing the online return.
	Independent research shows that the customer reaction to the new short tax return and guide is overwhelmingly (90 per cent.+) positive in terms of how easy it is to understand, clarity and ease of use.
	Preliminary research from the current pilot for the redesigned main tax return shows that the majority of the unrepresented taxpayers taking part find the return easier to understand than the current return.
	HMRC has a public service agreement (PSA) target to provide simple processes for business and individuals to meet their responsibilities and claim their entitlements easily and at minimum cost. Results from the survey in 2005-06 indicate that the overall satisfaction of small businesses that complete their own tax returns (SA, PAYE and VAT) has already been improved to the levels required by that PSA target.
	The latest data available (2003) on the time taken to complete a tax return are as follows:
	
		
			   Hours (unrepresented)  Hours (represented) 
			 Employees 2.25 2.02 
			 Self employed 3.02 2.27 
		
	
	The total time spent by HMRC in processing tax returns in 2005-06 was 2,712 man years. This includes all aspects of the work from receipt to final capture.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Antiviral Drugs: Rivers

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the environmental impact on river dependent ecosystems of the large scale use of antiviral drugs.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency has recently reviewed its work programme on human pharmaceuticals, using updated data on their use and ecotoxicity, in order to prioritise future work. The findings of this review will be published in the spring, and will include a list of those human pharmaceuticals most likely to pose a risk to aquatic ecosystems.

Biodiversity

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the Common Agricultural Policy on programmes aimed at increasing biodiversity in the UK.

Barry Gardiner: The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in June 2003 has reduced the environmental impact of agriculture. This has been achieved by removing an incentive to intensify production and requiring compliance with a range of environmental conditions (cross compliance) which will promote good environmental practice. These changes were implemented in January 2005. A monitoring observatory, the Agriculture Change and Environment Observatory, has been set up and will report on changes to farming practice as a result of CAP reform.

Biodiversity

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) incentives and  (b) support his Department provides for farmers to encourage and enable programmes aimed at protecting and increasing biodiversity in the UK.

Barry Gardiner: This is a devolved matter. In England, the Department supports farmers to change their farming methods to conserve biodiversity through the Environmental Stewardship (ES) scheme.
	In England, over 3.8 million hectares are now covered by ES agreements, with first year payments of more than £142 million already made. We are well on target for achieving 60 per cent. of agricultural land to be covered by ES agreements by next year.
	The Higher Level Stewardship scheme will provide additional benefits, particularly for biodiversity action plan priority habitats and species, via a more intensive, but carefully targeted, approach to habitat management.

Canvey Island

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account he has taken of climate change when estimating the level of protection against flood events for Canvey Island; and what account was taken in the initial design of the protection.

Ian Pearson: The effects of climate change which will tend to increase the problem of flood risk (such as sea level rise, increased rainfall and storm frequency) have been taken into account in the planning being undertaken by the Environment Agency for their Thames Estuary 2100 project.
	For over a decade, Defra has advised coastal operating authorities of the allowances they should build into the design of coastal defences to take account of sea level rise caused by a combination of climate change and long term geological tilt. These allowances reflect a precautionary approach and are kept under review as further understanding of the likely impact of climate change develops. We have recently issued further guidance to help operating authorities.

China

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on China's climate change programme.

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State held discussions with his Chinese counterpart Minister Jiang at the United Nations Climate Change conference in Nairobi in November 2006.
	In addition, the UK and China enjoy a positive dialogue at official level, which takes place through the UK-China Working Group on Climate Change. This was launched in September 2006 with four key areas of focus: reviewing and developing ongoing climate science collaboration between the UK and China; exploring possibilities for restructuring the energy market towards a low carbon future; securing further Chinese engagement in the renewable energy and energy efficiency partnership (REEEP); and adaptation to climate change through phase 2 of the Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture project. The first meeting of the Working Group took place in December 2006 in Beijing and further meetings will be held annually.

Consultants

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the  (a) technical and financial contracts,  (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and  (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies since 1 April 2005; and what the (A) nature and (B) cost of the assignment for each consultant was.

Barry Gardiner: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Contracts

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total liability to his Department would be in circumstances of immediate termination of all  (a) public/private partnerships and  (b) private finance initiative contracts.

Barry Gardiner: The core-Department is currently undertaking one private finance initiative (PFI) project to provide office facilities at Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge. There are, however, a number other PFI and PPP projects being undertaken by DEFRA's sponsored bodies i.e. non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and public corporations. Information about the total direct liability to the Department or its sponsored bodies in circumstances of immediate termination of each private finance initiative (PFI) and public/private partnerships (PPP) contract is set out in the following table. It must be stressed, however, that information on termination liabilities can be highly speculative as such liabilities depend on the exact circumstances of a termination, and that the costs involved to the Department will depend on these individual circumstances. The termination liabilities to the Department, for example, will be different if the Department itself voluntary terminates a contract compared to termination by another party. The liabilities to the Department arising from third party termination are particularly hard to determine in advance.
	
		
			  Organisation  Description  Category  Liability 
			 Environment Agency Broadland Flood Alleviation Project PFI 12 months notice of termination required. If the Environment Agency terminates the contract it is directly liable to pay an estimated £31 million to Broadland Environmental Services Ltd. 
			 Environment Agency Pevensey Bay Sea Defences PFI 12 months notice of termination required. If the Environment Agency terminates the contract it is directly liable to pay an estimated 2. 5m to Pentium Coastal Defence Ltd 
			 DEFRA Office facilities at Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge PFI DEFRA has no express right of termination. Liability relating to termination would, therefore be subject to negotiation. 
			 Natural England (successor to Countryside Agency) SPIRIT IT Systems PFI The SPIRIT PFI contract between Natural England and IBM will shortly come to an end. There are no termination charges or other liabilities associated with this contract 
			 British Waterways Watership Pub Partnership PPP There is no specific penalty clause in the agreement for termination. These PPPs have shareholder agreements. If any party decides to exit from the agreement their shares have to be sold to their partners or a third party. Sale of these shares depends on the market, stage of project development etc. 
			 British Waterways Wood Wharf (London) redevelopment PPP As above 
			 British Waterways Isis- development of river and canal side PPP As above 
			 Although they are not DEFRA projects, the Department also provides support in the form of PFI credits to allow Local Authorities to enter into PFI contracts to provide waste recycling and management facilities. Since these PFI contracts are essentially between the Local Authority or Partnership and the Service Provider (i.e. PFI contractor), there will be no direct liability to DEFRA in a situation where a DEFRA sponsored PFI contract is terminated.

Departmental Equipment

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of his Department's  (a) computers and  (b) laptops were stolen in each of the last nine years; and what the total value was of stolen computers and laptops in this period.

Barry Gardiner: The following figures show the number of reported thefts of computers/laptops since the formation of DEFRA since 2001:
	
		
			   Number of items stolen  Estimated Value (£) 
			 2001-02 13 15,427 
			 2002-03 23 23,112 
			 2003-04 2 1,151 
			 2004-05(1) 3 3,422 
			 2005-06(1) 18 14,292 
			 (1) Following the outsourcing of IT services to IBM in October 2004, computers/laptops are no longer classed as departmental assets as they form part of the overall contract for the provision of IT services with equipment therefore belonging to the contractor.

Departmental Research

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether research projects into agriculture were affected by his Department's recent budget cuts; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: No ongoing agricultural research projects have been affected by recent budgetary reductions.
	DEFRA allocated over £150 million to research and development (R and D) in 2006-07, reflecting the value the Department places on research. As such while R and D budgets have been assessed as part of the wider departmental budgetary changes, they have been comparatively well-protected. For example, through managing the start dates of planned new work, savings of around 5 per cent. have been realised for 2006-07 from the Sustainable Farming and Food R and D Programme.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff were employed through employment agencies in  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally the numbers of personnel engaged through employment agencies in core-DEFRA in each of the last four financial years are:
	
		
			  Financial year  Numbers of personnel 
			 2002-03 2,825 
			 2003-04 2,282 
			 2004-05 1,418 
			 2005-06 992 
		
	
	The longest assignment length is 52 weeks and the mean assignment lengths for each of the four financial years are 18.5 weeks; 18.4 weeks; 16.1 weeks; and 13.7 weeks respectively.

Disease Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to require farmers to pay a greater proportion of the costs of annual disease control.

Ben Bradshaw: A public consultation on the principles of responsibility and cost sharing for animal health and welfare activities for England was launched on 11 December 2006.
	We intend to follow this consultation on principles with a more detailed consultation later this year on specific proposals. This will include an impact assessment on policy options.
	Our intention is to introduce a Bill in the third session of Parliament to take forward responsibility and cost sharing.

Energy Efficient Homes

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to incentivise local councils to encourage people to make their homes more energy efficient; and if he will ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for extra funding for councils to spend on this work.

Ian Pearson: The 1995 Home Energy Conservation Act requires local authorities with housing responsibility to prepare a strategy for improving energy efficiency within residential accommodation in their areas and report annually on progress. Since 1996, local authorities have reported an average total improvement of approximately 16.7 per cent. The Government are carrying out a review that will help inform policy on local authorities, with the aim of generating more effective action from them, and will report in due course.
	The Energy Saving Trust, which is funded by the Government, encourages local authorities to develop energy efficiency strategies for their housing stock. The sustainable energy beacon councils have also been funded to develop a benchmark and toolkit that draws on their good practice. This will enable councils to evaluate their current performance and provide specific guidance to make improvements.
	In the 2006 Climate Change Programme, the Government committed to ensure that the new Local Government Performance Framework will include an appropriate focus on action on climate change, sufficient to incentivise more authorities to reach the levels of the best. Further details can be found on the Defra website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/ukccp/index.htm.

Eunomia

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which projects run by the consultancy Eunomia  (a) his Department and  (b) the Environment Agency has funded since 1997; and what the (i) cost and (ii) objective was of each project.

Barry Gardiner: The Department came into being in June 2001. The core-Department does not hold information centrally of any work commissioned by Defra's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies with Eunomia. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information held centrally in the core-Department on expenditure with Eunomia is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Expenditure (£) 
			 2002-03 23,860.42 
			 2003-04 107,094.23 
			 2004-05 428,972,25 
			 2005-06 711,929,20 
			 2006-07(1) 9,380.49 
			 (1) First six months. 
		
	
	From information held centrally, this expenditure relates to work commissioned from Eunomia as part of the direct consultancy support provided to local authorities under Defra's Waste Implementation Programme (WIP). The consultancy concerned environment regulation policy, and various aspects of waste management strategy including but not limited to waste disposal; waste and recycling; municipal waste; waste procurement; waste minimisation; regulatory impact assessments; planning and pollution central regimes; waste technologies; and waste practice guidance.

Farm Subsidies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many outstanding payments were due to farmers in  (a) England,  (b) the North West and  (c) Eddisbury constituency in each month since April 2005.

Barry Gardiner: There were no payments made for the Single Payments Scheme (SPS) before February 2006. Outstanding SPS payments for England were as follows:
	
		
			  2006  Payments 
			 February 116,009 
			 March 85,621 
			 April 60,370 
			 May 43,892 
			 June 24,941 
			 July 19,193 
			 August 14,062 
			 September 9,577 
			 October 6,437 
			 November 3,439 
		
	
	Analysis by region and constituency of claimants or payments is not yet available at this present time.

Flood Defences

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when he plans to discuss funding of flood defences in England with the Environment Agency;
	(2)  if he will increase funding to the Environment Agency  (a) to improve and  (b) to increase flood defences in England;
	(3)  if his Department will increase spending on flood defence and prevention schemes as a consequence of the Stern Report's findings.

Ian Pearson: I informed the Environment Agency in December that their grant in aid allocation from Defra for flood risk management for 2007-08 will be £435.7 million. This is an increase compared to the 2006-07 original allocation and more than restores the in-year reduction to the agency's flood risk budget in 2006-07.
	Overall departmental funding in later years, of which grant in aid to the agency forms a part, is being considered in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review and we continue to work with the agency in preparation for this.
	Along with other stakeholders, the agency is also currently being formally consulted on proposals for new outcome measures and prioritisation approaches for flood and coastal erosion risk management.

Flood Defences

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of new homes which have been built in high risk flood areas in the last 12 months; and what steps his Department is taking to protect such homes from flooding.

Ian Pearson: Figures on the number of homes built in high risk flood areas in the last 12 months are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Government aim to discourage inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding. The Department for Communities and Local Government leads on development planning policy and, following public consultation, has just published new planning policy on development and flood risk. Planning Policy Statement 25 aims to direct development away from the areas at highest risk and ensure that, where new development is necessary in areas at risk of flooding, it is appropriate and safe, does not increase flood risk elsewhere and where possible reduces flood risk overall.
	Defra funds the Environment Agency to advise planning authorities on development proposals to ensure flood risk is properly taken into account but does not fund provision of measures to reduce flood risk specifically to facilitate new development. Measures needed to reduce risk for new development must be funded as part of the development, primarily through either a formal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or by way of developers incorporating effective design measures to mitigate the risks of a flood event.
	New development will often benefit from infrastructure already in place to reduce flood risk such as defences and flood warning systems; many areas at risk of flooding are already protected to a high standard. Building resilience to flooding into new development is being looked at as part of the developing cross-Government 'Making space for water strategy' for flood and coastal erosion risk management.

Illegal Timber Imports

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is on proposed additional EU legislation on illegal timber imports.

Barry Gardiner: The EU Forest Law Enforcement and Governance Action Plan required the assessment of potential additional legislative options to tackle imports of illegal timber into the EU. Such measures would add to the existing EU regulations, which provide for the licensing of legally produced timber imports from countries which enter into voluntary partnership agreements with the EU. The Government has been encouraging the European Commission to publish its proposal on this subject and has supported background research into the effectiveness of possible options. On 20 December 2006, the Commission launched a public consultation on alternative options.
	A number of approaches will be required to deal with illegal logging and the damage it causes. We will continue to be active in exploring options for excluding timber that has been illegally logged from UK markets.

Inland Waterways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he plans to carry out of the effect on the use of inland waterways of the possible loss of re-fuelling points following the removal of the fuel tax derogation for private pleasure craft.

Barry Gardiner: Treasury officials are consulting concerned and affected organisations on the implications of the Commission's decision not to renew the UK's derogation on red diesel for powered pleasure craft. They will discuss how the new arrangements can be administered so as to minimise compliance costs to businesses and individuals.
	Primary legislation will be needed to implement the new regime. Until this is enacted, pleasure craft owners may continue to buy and use red diesel.

Irish Milk Producers

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on subsidies paid by the Irish Government to Irish milk producers.

Barry Gardiner: The Irish Government has notified the European Commission of the subsides to the Irish dairy sector in line with its treaty obligations and has received state aid clearance. We therefore have no grounds to intervene with the Commission. Aid for investments in the processing and marketing of agricultural products are permitted under European Union rules providing they meet certain requirements.

IT Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many information technology projects within the responsibility of his Department, its agencies and their predecessors have been cancelled since 1997; what the total cost was of each project at cancellation; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Details of the cancellation and costs of projects started before October 2004, when DEFRA formed a strategic partnership with IBM as providers of IT services, are not held centrally and the information could not be gathered without disproportionate costs from the many business units involved.
	The only project cancelled since then was the roll out of Catalyst (an electronic document and records management system) which was halted in March 2006 in the light of the outcome of a pilot. The total cost of the project at cancellation was £12,642,000.

Legal Advice

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent by the Department on external legal advice in each of the past five years.

Barry Gardiner: The Department came into being in July 2001. From information held centrally, the core-Department has spent the following sums on external legal payments in each of the past five years:
	
		
			  Financial year  Value (£) 
			 2002-03 12,167,098 
			 2002-04 7,692,318 
			 2004-05 13,074,870 
			 2005-06 5,801,097 
			 2006-07 to date 1,874,672 
		
	
	The core-Department does not hold details centrally of any expenditure on external legal services incurred by DEFRA's agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

National Flood and Coastal Defence Database

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when the Environment Agency's National Flood and Coastal Defence database will be finished; what information the database will contain; and how regularly the database will be updated once it becomes operational;
	(2)  whether external parties will be able to access the Environment Agency's National Flood and Coastal Defence database (NFCDD); and whether access to the NFCDD will be granted to external parties without charge.

Ian Pearson: The National Flood and Coastal Defence database (NFCDD) has been developed in a number of phases and was first available in 2002. Following the completion of phase 3, it is live within the Environment Agency (EA) and is available to all operating authorities with the required software and local configuration. All operating authorities will be able to use the database as they set themselves up to do so and complete their training programmes.
	The data that are held in NFCDD can be categorised into two main types. Firstly, mapping data showing the areas at risk of flooding and secondly, data about the defences themselves (their type, location and condition etcetera) and the areas that benefit from those defences. The data in NFCDD will be continually updated as defences are constructed, inspected and as better information about flood risk becomes available.
	At present, no further phases are planned but requests for changes and improvements are kept under review and will be progressed to meet the needs of the flood and coastal erosion risk management service.
	The NFCDD will contain data provided by, and make information directly available to, the flood and coastal defence operating authorities (the EA, local authorities and internal drainage boards (IDBs)) and the Government. Linking these organisations with one common data source gives rise to potential benefits in terms of consistent policy development and improved procurement opportunities. The data in the NFCDD can be downloaded and made available to other interested organisations.
	The NFCDD can be accessed at no charge by the Government, local authorities and IDBs who have the appropriate software. Data (other than that entered by the local authority or IDB themselves) that are downloaded for other than statutory purposes will generally incur a charge. In all instances the use of the data is subject to the issue an appropriate licence.
	Further information on the NFCDD can be found on the DEFRA website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/hltarget/nfcdd.htm

Natural England

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the implications of changes to Natural England's budget are for the educational elements of the Higher Level Scheme.

Barry Gardiner: Natural England's budget for 2006-07 was announced on 22 December as £169.59 million. This represents core funding, largely in relation to running costs. The Higher Level agri-environment scheme is funded under separate arrangements to support the UK's Rural Development Programmes.

Paratuberculosis

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to fight paratuberculosis (Johne's Disease) in livestock; and what research his Department has  (a) undertaken and  (b) commissioned into the disease.

Ben Bradshaw: Johne's Disease is caused by Mycobacterium Avium subspecies paratuberculosis, often known as MAP. DEFRA is responsible for undertaking measures to reduce the prevalence of MAP in dairy herds, while the Food Standards Agency (FSA) lead on the aspects which relate to consumer health protection. The Government's strategy to control MAP in cows' milk is available on the FSA website at:
	http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/map_strategy.pdf
	In 2001, DEFRA funded a comprehensive review by the Scottish Agricultural college which assessed the surveillance and control of Johne's Disease in farm animals. The review recommended appropriate systems of surveillance and control for Great Britain. This is available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/zoonoses/zoonoses_reports/sac2.PDF
	In 2004, DEFRA published guidance for dairy farmers on the control of Johne's Disease in dairy herds. This was done in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDNI), the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and is available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/pdf/johnesguidance.pdf
	DEFRA is also working in partnership with the beef industry to reduce the spread of Johne's Disease in the cattle sector. This will help to raise production efficiency and allow for high value cattle to be sold on the export market.
	In 2005, a statistically-based surveillance survey was commissioned to look at the prevalence of Johne's Disease in the UK dairy herd. The survey aimed to:
	i. determine herd-level prevalence of the disease;
	ii. determine the effect of management practices and herd location on disease prevalence;
	iii. establish the genetic diversity of MAP in the UK to help understand its spread and provide a baseline for comparison with human isolates;
	iv. assess methodologies for future monitoring of the disease.
	The study began in the autumn of 2006 and will involve 150 randomly selected commercial dairy herds. The final report is expected by the summer of 2008(1).
	(1) The study is a collaboration between the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), the Scottish Agricultural college (SAC), Moredun Research Institute, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) in Northern Ireland. The study is funded by DEFRA, SEERAD and DARDNI.

Recruitment Advertising

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on recruitment advertising in each of the last three years.

Barry Gardiner: This information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Under the Civil Service Order in Council 1995, individual Government Departments and agencies have delegated authority for the recruitment of staff to the home civil service. The central rules on recruitment are set out in chapter 1.1 of the Civil Service Management Code.
	When advertising a post, the vacancy manager will look to use the media most likely to attract people with the necessary skills. Within Defra a range of media are used from local newspapers, specialist magazines eg  The Economist, Veterinary Record or People Management; the internet, to the more general public sector sections of the national newspaper job advertising eg  The Guardian,  The Sunday Times.
	The cost of placing these adverts is met from local budgets and to provide the information requested would require an exercise to contact all current budget holders within Defra. Changes of structure within the Department would make it difficult to source the information for certain sectors.

Rural Payments Agency

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2006,  Official Report, column 306W, on the Rural Payments Agency, how much Johnston McNeill has been paid since he took leave of absence.

Barry Gardiner: Johnston McNeill's employment was terminated on 1 December 2006. The cost of employing Mr. McNeill since his removal from office on 16 March 2006 to 1 December 2006 is £81,410.55 in basic salary.

Rural Payments Agency

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the former chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency remains on his Department's payroll; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The employment of the former chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency was terminated on 1 December 2006.

Single Farm Payment

Douglas Hogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why Irelands' Farms Ltd. of North Rauceby, Lincolnshire, had not received the full amount of 2005 single farm payment due as of 7 December 2006; and if he will make arrangements for an early payment of the balance.

Barry Gardiner: This claim needed to be recalculated. It is now being processed and is being dealt with as a priority.

Warm Front

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion on average of the costs of the installation of a £700 boiler through the Warm Front initiative he would expect  (a) the scheme and  (b) the householder to pay.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 10 January 2007
	The Warm Front Scheme provides a range of energy efficiency measures to qualifying households. A grant maxima applies for each household; £2,700, but rising to £4,000 where an oil fired central heating system is recommended.
	On average, 89 per cent. of applicants receiving work on the Scheme will have their work fully funded with a contribution to the costs being required for the remaining 11 per cent.

Warm Front

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what checks are made on the labour charges of Warm Front contractors;
	(2)  what average proportion of a Warm Front grant was spent on labour costs in the last 12 months.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 10 January 2007
	The Warm Front Scheme Manager, Eaga Partnership, is responsible for the appointment of installers to work on the Scheme.
	Installers are appointed to work on Warm Front via a competitive tendering process. This also includes consideration of installers' technical competence, qualifications, track record and financial probity, alongside the price quoted to install energy efficiency measures.
	Once appointed, the installers work to competitive harmonised prices that are set by Warm Front for different geographical areas. A labour rate is set for heating work as well as a rate, per property type, for insulation. Again, that rate can differ from area to area. Labour charges are reviewed annually to ensure best value for the Scheme.
	My Department has also commissioned independent work to review the overall cost of the installation of measures under the Scheme.
	The average proportion of a Warm Front grant spent on labour costs in the last 12 months was 66 per cent.

Warm Front

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who audits the Warm Front initiative on behalf of his Department; and when an audit last took place.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 10 January 2007
	DEFRA employs a firm of Independent Quality Assessors, White Young Green, to carry out a periodic series of assessments of the Warm Front Scheme. The most recent audit was carried out in late 2006 and the report is being finalised prior to submission to the Department.
	White Young Green also carries out work to review specific elements of the Scheme as required.
	The Warm Front Scheme Manager employs Price Waterhouse Coopers, as independent financial auditors, to review the Scheme on a six-monthly basis. The most recent audit was completed for the period ending 30 September 2006.
	In addition, the Department can carry out internal audits of the Scheme as required. The latest was completed in 2006.

Waterways

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to reclassify the navigable and restored remainder waterways to Cruiseway status.

Barry Gardiner: It is for British Waterways to put forward proposals for the reclassification of individual waterways. Each case would be considered on its merits.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she has made representations to the Afghan Government on the decision to remove the Mahammad Daud as Provincial Governor of Helmand province.

Geoff Hoon: The United Kingdom is the second largest donor of development assistance to Afghanistan and the second largest troop contributor. As lead nation for the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team, we had confidence in Governor Daud.
	Decisions on appointments are for the Afghan Government to make. We welcome the positive relationship that our officials have already established with Governor Wafa, with whom we are working closely and constructively.

Chile

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Under-Secretary of State made during his recent visit to Chile.

Geoff Hoon: My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, visited Chile from 18 to 19 December 2006. He undertook a bilateral programme in Santiago and had wide-ranging discussions covering bilateral, regional and global issues with senior representatives from the Chilean Government, opposition parties and industry.
	The UK regards Chile as a leading regional player and an important international partner. Chile has become a model of political stability, good government and sound economic management in Latin America and makes a positive contribution to the global agenda. In recognition of this, my noble Friend Lord Triesman inaugurated a process of regular UK-Chile high level political talks with Foreign Minister Foxley. At the International Relations Institute in Santiago my noble Friend Lord Triesman delivered a keynote speech on Latin America which can be found in the Latin America section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid-1007029394509&a=KArticle&aid=1166534138630.
	A FCO strategy paper on UK policy in Latin America will be published in early 2007.

EU States: Meetings

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she expects the UK to be represented at  (a) a meeting of the 18 EU states which have ratified the EU Constitutional Treaty to be held in Madrid on 26 January 2007 and  (b) a meeting of EU states which have not ratified the EU Constitutional Treaty to be held on 27 February 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The UK is not among the EU member states which have ratified the Constitutional Treaty and has not been invited to attend the meeting in Madrid on 26 January 2007. The UK has not yet received an invitation to the meeting reportedly scheduled in Luxembourg on 27 February. We will take a decision on attendance if and when such an invitation is received.
	I made a written ministerial statement to the House on 5 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 10-11WS regarding the UK's approach to the forthcoming future of Europe discussions. This continues to be the Government's position.

Middle East

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 247-48W, on the Middle East, when the proposals of the United States Security Co-ordinator, General Keith Dayton, are expected to be reported; what progress has been made by the Security Committee established by General Dayton; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: In my reply to the right hon. Member's question on 23 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 247-48W, there was a factual error with regard to United States Security Co-ordinator, General Keith Dayton's establishment of a security committee. I can confirm that the Crossings Steering Committee (CSC) is the 'security committee' that was envisaged under the Movement and Access Agreement of November 2005. I apologise for the error. The committee first met in October 2006. The CSC continue to meet to discuss on-going proposals for the development of crossing points between Gaza and Israel. During my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's visit to the region, he discussed the Kami crossing with Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 Session were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before prorogation.

Margaret Beckett: 56 written parliamentary questions tabled to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the 2005-06 parliamentary Session received a reply that it had not been possible to reply before prorogation. Of these 56 written parliamentary questions, 25 questions were tabled on 6 November, two days before Parliament prorogued. The FCO was therefore unable to provide a substantive answer to those 25 questions before the House prorogued.
	The FCO received 4,305 written parliamentary questions in the 2005-06 parliamentary Session, of which 3,460 were answered within one week. The FCO received 954 named day questions during the same Session, of which 723 were answered on the allocated day.
	FCO Ministers and officials endeavour to answer named day questions on the allocated day and ordinary written questions within one week.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 Session were not answered wholly or in part on grounds of disproportionate cost.

Margaret Beckett: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not record the information requested by the right hon. Member. In order to answer this question officials would need to check every parliamentary question received during the 2005-06 Session. This in itself would incur disproportionate cost.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 Session did not receive an answer.

Margaret Beckett: Three written parliamentary questions in the 2005-06 parliamentary Session did not receive an answer. I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave her today (UIN 112971).

Publications

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will place in the Library copies of her Department's in-house staff magazine for the last 12 months.

Margaret Beckett: News and Views, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in-house staff magazine, is an internal publication which carries sensitive information about staff movements as well as some personal details. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to place  News and Views in the Library of the House.

Somalia

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the situation in Somalia; whether she has received reports of refugees having been denied legitimate entry into Kenya; and what discussions she has had with  (a) the transitional government,  (b) the Government of Ethiopia and  (c) representatives from the Union of Islamic Courts on an early cessation of violence.

Ian McCartney: We are concerned about the reports from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) about refugees being denied entry into Kenya. UK officials have raised the matter with the Kenyan authorities. We call on all states to comply with their international obligations to refugees. We understand that the UNHCR has offered Kenya extra assistance to meet its obligations while addressing its legitimate security concerns.
	Our high commissioner in Nairobi urged President Yusuf of the Somalia Transitional Federal Government to grasp the current opportunity to move the internationally agreed process in Somalia forward, as envisaged in the Somalian Transitional Federal Charter, and to be inclusive in the reconciliation process. We are committed to supporting the Transitional Federal Government in this process.
	Our ambassador in Addis Ababa discussed the situation with Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia. We believe that the deployment of a regional force under the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1725 will create the conditions for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops while preventing a security vacuum emerging.
	UK officials met representatives of the moderate elements of the Union of Islamic Courts in 2006 but no discussions with them have been possible since the recent outbreak of violence. The earliest opportunity to resume discussions will be taken.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Sudanese Government on a voluntary agreement to introduce a no-fly zone in Darfur.

Ian McCartney: We have made it clear to the Government of Sudan that we utterly condemn its continued aerial bombardment in Darfur and that this must stop immediately. We have had no discussion on a voluntary agreement to introduce a no-fly zone because of the improbability such a discussion could succeed.
	We are calling on Sudan not just to adhere to the ceasefire but also to accept UN assistance for the African Union force in Darfur (AMIS) and to renew its political dialogue with the rebels. If it becomes clear that Sudan is determined not to co-operate, the international community will need to consider the consequences. A no-fly zone is one of the options available for the international community to consider.

Turkmenistan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the political situation in Turkmenistan; and what representations she has made to help to ensure  (a) that elections take place and  (b) that such elections are free, fair and subject to international observers.

Geoff Hoon: We are encouraged by the peaceful transfer of power in Turkmenistan following the sudden death of President Niyazov on 21 December 2006. The Finnish presidency and EU special representative Pierre Morel attended the funeral on behalf of the EU. Our ambassador in Ashgabat, Peter Butcher, represented the UK.
	The date for the presidential election has been set for 11 February. Our ambassador in Ashgabat is in close contact with his EU colleagues on the evolving and potentially encouraging situation. We stand ready to work with the new president to support democratic reforms in Turkmenistan.
	We understand that the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is discussing with the Turkmen Government the best means of co-operating on these elections in order to promote democratisation in Turkmenistan. We look forward to seeing elections on 11 February that will be a step forward for Turkmenistan.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Gypsies and Travellers

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many sites (a) Kent county council and  (b) each district council in Kent has designated for Gypsies and Travellers.

Meg Munn: A list of Gypsy and Traveller sites provided by local authorities in England is published by the Department for Communities and Local Government twice yearly. Copies of the latest publication, "Gypsy and Traveller sites provided by local authorities and RSLs in England—19th July 2006", have been placed in the Library of the House. An electronic version is available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1153575

Local Authorities: Inflation Costs

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the underlying rate of inflation of local authorities' cost bases, broken down by cost base; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assumptions her Department used regarding cost base inflation of local authorities in setting local authority grants for 2007-08; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment her Department has made of the relative levels of cost inflation experienced by local authorities in different parts of the country.

Phil Woolas: In setting the overall level of Government grant support for local authority revenue spending in 2007-08, we looked carefully with local government at the factors which increased costs in that year and the extent to which those pressures could be mitigated. The overall increase in grant of £3.1 billion or 4.9 per cent. provides sufficient resources to enable authorities to deliver effective services without the need to impose excessive council tax increases. The distribution of formula and specific grants between authorities reflects the circumstances relevant to authorities. Consultation on our proposals for the funding of local authority revenue spending finished on 5 January. We are currently considering carefully all representations.

Mobile Phones

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Government plans to implement the recommendations of the report of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones.

Meg Munn: The Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, chaired by William Stewart, published its report, "Mobile Phones and Health" (known as the Stewart Report), in May 2000. The report contained recommendations based on a thorough review of the available scientific data on health effects and took into account the evidence received.
	The report made a number of recommendations for precautionary action for the use of mobile technology. The Government have accepted the precautionary approach advised by the Stewart Group and have taken forward a range of specific actions.
	Where appropriate, these changes were implemented in 2001 by the (then) Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions by the introduction of two sets of regulations and a revised Planning Policy Guidance Note 8, 'Telecommunications' (PPG8).

Muslim Association of Britain

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions  (a) she and  (b) her officials have had with the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) on the MAB's participation in the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board.

Phil Woolas: I have met with the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body (MINAB) steering group, of which the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) is a member alongside five other members, to discuss progress on 6 November 2006. No other discussions have been held.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department has spent on  (a) advertising,  (b) printing and  (c) public relations since its creation.

John Prescott: My Office has spent £726.15 on printing business cards, as stated in my reply to the hon. Member's previous question on 18 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1582W.

Budget

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what his Department's budget for 2006-07 is, broken down by main budget heading;
	(2)  on what date audited accounts for his Department will be published.

John Prescott: Audited accounts for my Office will be published after the end of the financial year.

Departmental Efficiency Savings

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to make departmental efficiency savings.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for St. Albans (Anne Main) on 27 November 2006,  Official Report, column 276W.

Departmental Staff

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff in his Office are on  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent contracts of employment.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 9 October 2006,  Official Report, column 72W, and the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) on 11 December 2006,  Official Report, column 740W.

Statutory Responsibilities

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the statutory responsibilities he holds under the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975.

John Prescott: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has already answered this question. I refer the hon. Member to his answer of 14 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1287W.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Cabinet Office Precedent Book

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library a copy of the Cabinet Office Precedent Book.

Hilary Armstrong: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for South Shields (David Miliband) the then Minister for the Cabinet Office, to the hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk (Mr. Simpson) on 3 February 2005,  Official Report, column 1011W.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many letters were received by her Department from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to within  (a) 10 and  (b) 20 days of receipt; how many were answered after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' and Peers' correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 75-78WS. Information relating to 2006 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.

V

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether her Department provides facilities to the charity v for holding trustee meetings.

Edward Miliband: The Cabinet Office does not provide facilities for holding trustee meetings of the independent charity, v.
	Trustee meetings have been held at v's offices and at space provided by v's corporate partners.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

1921 Census

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complaints were lodged with the Information Commissioner in each month between January 2005 and November 2006 about the citing by the Office for National Statistics of Exemption 41 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to requests for the disclosure of extracts from the 1921 Census records for England and Wales.

Vera Baird: The Commissioner's Office has had three complaints relating to the 1921 census and the citing of section 41 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by the Office for National Statistics. These were received in May 2005, August 2005 and October 2006.

Disorder Penalty Notices

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many fines were imposed as a consequence of the non-payment of a penalty notice for disorder in the last three years for which figures are available; and what proportion of such fines have not been paid in full.

Harriet Harman: Data on penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) are collected by the Home Office. In 2004, 63,639 PNDs were issued of which 28,180 were registered as fines. In 2005 146,481 PNDs were issued of which 62,174 were registered as fines. Once a PND is registered as a fine it is enforced in the same way as if it were ordered by the court. The national payment rate for fines is currently at 90 per cent. Court IT systems currently cannot identify the number of PNDs registered as fines that have not been paid in full.

Electoral Participation Fund

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether funding from the electoral participation fund is ring-fenced.

Bridget Prentice: The electoral participation fund is money allocated by the Secretary of State for the implementation of Section 69 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006. It is for the reimbursement of money spent by local electoral officers, at the discretion of the Secretary of State. There is £2.5 million available for the fund in the 2007-08 financial year.

FOI Requests

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many Section 36 exemptions were approved by Ministers following Freedom of Information Act requests in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by department.

Vera Baird: The latest annual figures available are for 2005. The Freedom of Information annual report 2005 shows that 35,097 FOI requests were processed during the year, of which 554 were exempt under Section 36 (1.6 per cent.). The report, which also shows the figures broken down by department, is available in the Libraries of the House.
	Quarterly reports which contain more recent statistics, up to and including Q3 2006, can be found in the Libraries of the House.

FOI Requests

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if her Department will increase the £600 and £450 limits used for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act in line with inflation since the introduction of the Act.

Vera Baird: There are currently no plans to increase the appropriate limits under the Freedom of Information Act.

FOI Requests

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department's proposals to amend Freedom of Information Act regulations to allow the aggregation of requests for cost purposes will permit such aggregation if an individual makes a series of different requests under the Act on different topics.

Vera Baird: My Department published proposals for amending the regulations on 14 December 2006. Under these proposals it will be possible to aggregate requests from an individual on different topics.

FOI Requests

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the definition of a 'campaign' is under her Department's proposals to amend Freedom of Information Act regulations to allow the aggregation of different requests in pursuance of a campaign.

Bridget Prentice: The power to aggregate two or more requests for information by different persons who appear to the public authority to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a campaign is an existing provision (s.12(4)(b) of The Freedom of Information Act and referred to at regulation (5)(l)(b) of The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004).
	Public authorities will continue to exercise their judgement in determining whether information is being requested in pursuance of a campaign as they do now but it is proposed the existing provision for the aggregation of requests on the same or similar information be extended to include requests on different information.

FOI Requests

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs by what criteria public authorities will ascertain whether persons are 'apparently acting in concert of pursuance of a campaign' under her Department's proposals to amend Freedom of Information Act regulations.

Bridget Prentice: The power to aggregate two or more requests for information by different persons who appear to the public authority to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a campaign is an existing provision (s.12(4)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act and referred to at regulation (5)(l)(b) of The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004). Public authorities will continue to exercise their discretion in applying this provision on a case by case basis.

FOI Requests

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department's proposals to amend Freedom of Information Act regulations to allow officials of a public authority to include the costs of reading, consideration and consultation time in calculations of the appropriate limit will affect the conduct of internal reviews.

Vera Baird: My Department published proposals for amending the regulations on 14 December 2006. These proposals will only apply to initial requests for information and not to internal reviews.

Lord Chancellor: Hospitality

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  whether the Lord Chancellor has used his official residence at Admiralty House to entertain  (a) Labour hon. Members,  (b) Labour party donors and  (c) Labour party officials;
	(2)  whether the Lord Chancellor has used his official residence at Admiralty House to host any Labour party event.

Bridget Prentice: Guidance on the use of official residences is set out in section 4.2 of the Ministerial Code. The Lord Chancellor complies fully with the requirements of the Ministerial Code.

Prisoner Voting

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department's proposals to enfranchise convicted prisoners would involve prisoners voting in the constituency where the prison is located or in the constituency of their last known abode.

Bridget Prentice: No decision on either the enfranchisement of any convicted prisoners, or how such prisoners would vote were they to be enfranchised, has been made.
	A consultation paper on the voting rights of convicted prisoners detained with the United Kingdom, was published on 14 December 2006. This will be followed by a second consultation, to consider how any changes might work in practice. Ultimately it will be for Parliament to decide what, if any, changes are made.

Statistics

Theresa May: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what the process is for deciding the date of publication of statistics prepared by or relating to the Department; and who is involved in that process;
	(2)  on how many occasions in the last five years the publication date of statistics produced by her Department has been changed; what the  (a) subject of the statistics,  (b) (i) original and (ii) final date of publication and  (c) reason for the delay was in each case; and who took the decision to delay the publication in each case.

Vera Baird: In accordance with the National Statistics Code of Practice (2002), the Head of Profession for Statistics in the Department for Constitutional Affairs has sole responsibility for determining, pre-announcing and, if necessary, altering the dates of publication of 'National Statistics' and other relevant statistics produced by the Department.
	Any decision to change a pre-announced publication date will be based on a range of professional considerations such as the completeness of the underlying data, their fitness for purpose, the need for consistency and coherence, the need to promote widespread access and informed debate, or any earlier accidental or wrongful release. In reaching their decision, the Head of Profession will also take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the 'National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices'. The Code and its 12 supporting Protocols are available in the Library of the House.
	There have been only two occasions in the last five years when the Head of Profession has changed a pre-announced publication date. In both cases, the affected release was the monthly National Statistics bulletin "Average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders". The details are as follows:
	October 2002: release postponed by one week from 4 October to 11 October, as a result of downtime to allow for the installation of new IT equipment by a key data supplier.
	July 2006: release postponed by one working day from 7 July to 10 July, to avoid coinciding with the first anniversary of the bombings on the London underground. This decision was made by the then Head of Profession in consultation with communications colleagues and the National Statistician, who fully supported the approach taken.

HEALTH

Alcohol Abuse

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent on each project aimed at the prevention of alcohol abuse in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: The Department has implemented a number of projects aimed at preventing alcohol misuse and tackling alcohol related harm over the last 10 years.
	In November 2006, the Department, jointly with the Home Office, launched the 'Know Your Limits' campaign. The Department will contribute £1.7 million in 2006-07. The campaign seeks to discourage binge drinking by young adults.
	In October 2006, the Department announced the Identification and Brief advice trailblazers, which are a series of demonstration projects on preventive interventions in health and criminal justice settings for people who are drinking at hazardous and harmful levels.
	The Department is investing £3.2 million in this project over 2006-08. The Department has also issued Section 64 funding to various projects over the last 10 years run by organisations who tackle alcohol related harm, at least some of this funding being spent on projects aimed at prevention. The total cost was £4.8 million, £4.4 million of this money went to core funding of Alcohol Concern. In addition, Alcohol Concern projects were supported as follows:
	
		
			   Title  £ 
			 2000-02 Promoting health in the workplace 116,000 
			 2000-02 Information for Primary Care staff 89,820 
			 2000-01 Accident and Emergency (links with alcohol services) 9,620 
			 2001-02 Alcohol and teenage pregnancy 7,700 
			 2001-03 Alcohol and mental health 162,740 
			  Total for Alcohol Concern projects 385,880 
		
	
	Other organisations that received funding
	
		
			£ 
			 1997-98 Medical Council on Alcoholism for a project on alcohol and health 10,000 
			 2004-06 Tacade core funding 70,000

Alcohol Abuse

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have sought support from the NHS for alcohol addiction in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: This information is not held centrally. The Alcohol Needs Assessment Research Project (ANARP) published in November 2005 provided the first ever comprehensive picture of alcohol related needs and availability of treatment in England.
	ANARP found that in England 1.1 million people are alcohol dependent and estimated that 63,000 access alcohol treatment each year.
	It would not be expected that all those who are dependent on alcohol access treatment during any one year. This is discussed further in the ANARP.

Alcohol Awareness Campaigns

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with drinks manufacturers with respect to alcohol awareness campaigns.

Caroline Flint: Officials of the Department facilitated discussions between the alcohol industry and non-industry stakeholders on the establishment of the new independent Drinkaware Trust. A memorandum of understanding was signed in June 2006. The alcohol industry has committed funding of £12 million to finance the new Trust's activities over the first three years, which are likely to include alcohol education campaigns.
	The alcohol industry is represented, along with non-industry stakeholders, on the communications stakeholder group, which meets regularly to give advice on the Government's campaigns and communications on alcohol misuse.

Alcohol Strategy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide funding for the alcohol strategy to match that for the drugs strategy.

Caroline Flint: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine how much of their budget they spend on alcohol services locally in accordance with the needs of the local population.
	PCTs are currently spending £217 million on alcohol treatment. A further £15 million has been allocated to PCTs in 2007-08 to improve alcohol interventions further.

Audiology Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for  (a) fitting of new digital hearing aids and  (b) upgrade of digital hearing aids from analogue hearing aids in (i) Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust area and (ii) all NHS trusts; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: A national action plan for audiology will be published soon. The action plan will be aimed at improving access, service delivery and waiting times through the development of a sustainable service model for the service. Implementation of the action plan and its recommendations will be the responsibility of local services. This includes Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust.
	In addition to the development of the action plan, the Department has also announced the procurement of up to 300,000 audiology pathways from the independent sector to provide assessment, fitting and follow up.
	Both of these measures will assist in significantly reducing waiting times and will greatly benefit those who receive hearing aids.

Calorific Sweeteners

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates she has made of the average levels of consumption of calorific sweeteners.

Caroline Flint: We assume that by calorific sweeteners my hon. Friend is asking about bulk/polyol sweeteners such as sorbitol or xylitol and not sugars.
	No direct estimate of consumption of these products is made through the national diet and nutrition survey.

Cheese Making

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many UK nationals will take part in the audit of cheese-making establishments initiated by the European Commission; where conclusions of the audit will be made public; what the cost is of the audit; and what percentage of the cost will be borne by the European Commission.

Caroline Flint: The European Commission's audit of the United Kingdom's implementation and enforcement of food safety rules in the dairy sector took place between 21 and 29 November 2006. The audit commenced with an initial pre-meeting between the two Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) inspectors involved and officials from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Defra. The inspectors were then accompanied by FSA officials on visits to seven dairy business premises in England and Wales to evaluate at first hand official controls relating to the safety of milk and milk based products. The audit mission concluded with a closing meeting involving officials from the FVO, Defra and the FSA.
	The FVO report of the mission is not yet available. Following the established consultation procedures, the FVO will publish the report on the Commission website in due course.
	The mission took the usual format, with all parties funding their own expenditure. However the overall cost of the audit has not been assessed.

Colchester General Hospital

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to fund the planned expansion of Colchester general hospital; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: This is a local matter, which falls to national health service providers locally. However, I am advised that despite the Private Finance Initiative process stopping in June 2006, Essex Rivers remains committed to centralise core services at Colchester general hospital. The trust's intention is to achieve the same strategic ends over a longer period using other avenues for finance and taking advantage of opportunities as they arise. This is the central theme of the trust's investment strategy, launched in September 2006, for which consultation ended on 22 December 2006.
	A strategic capital solution of around £40 million to £50 million is being developed. Early approval by the North East Essex primary care trust and NHS East of England boards will be sought this financial year, which will deliver a new five-year programme comprising 14 projects which will achieve the outcomes required, assuming that the funding regime and activity are broadly in line with the current assumptions.

Colchester General Hospital

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much compensation has  (a) been paid and  (b) will be paid to the private sector consortium involved in the former Private Finance Initiative project at Colchester general hospital; from which national health service budget or budgets the compensation will be paid; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Forensic accountants appointed by the Department have completed their work with Essex Rivers national health service trust to verify the reasonableness of the claim submitted by AMEC and its consortium partners in respect of bidding costs incurred on the cancelled private finance initiative scheme. Ministers are now considering the accountants' report and how any such compensation payments should be administered.

Curd Cheese

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings there have been between scientists representing the UK Government and the European Commission to agree the definitions of curd cheese; what the  (a) date and  (b) location was of each meeting; what other UK scientific procedures or definitions have been disputed by the European Commission; what instructions the European Commission has issued as a result of such disputes; how many production units have been closed as a result of such instructions; and what compensation is available to UK cheese producers closed as a result of action taken by the European Commission.

Caroline Flint: There have been no meetings between United Kingdom Government representatives and the European Commission to discuss the definition of curd cheese. There have been, and it is expected there will continue to be, discussions about the procedures for testing milk for antibiotic residues, about cheese recovery operations and about the placing on the market of foodstuffs intended for further processing before consumption. The European Commission has not recently issued any new instructions about practices in the dairy sector, but it did adopt Commission Decision 2006/694/EC, the preamble (recitals) to which set down how the Commission intends the controls on antibiotics in milk should operate within the Community. The decision required all member states to prohibit the placing on the market of curd cheese manufactured by Bowland Dairy Products Ltd. of Barrowford, Lancashire, and the question of compensation is a matter for it to pursue with the Commission.

Food Standards Agency

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees in the Food Standards Agency have qualifications relating to the dairy industry; and how many scientists are employed by the Food Standards Agency.

Caroline Flint: Some 40 per cent. of the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) 750 staff are scientists. They include microbiologists, chemists, toxicologists and others with more generalist scientific qualifications. Scientists work on the full range of the agency's business as and when the need arises. This includes work on dairy related issues.

Frozen Ready-to-eat Meals: Contamination

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Food Standards Agency was first informed that the frozen ready-to-eat meals recalled on 14 December might be contaminated with glass.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency was first notified during the late afternoon of 12 December 2006 that a range of frozen ready to eat meals was potentially contaminated with glass and would be recalled by the supplier. Subsequent investigations on the 13 December to verify the extent of the problem identified that further products were also implicated. Recall notices appeared in the national press on the 14 and 15 December.

Gym Membership Costs

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the cost of membership of a  (a) private and  (b) local authority-run gym in each year since 1997; what assessment she has made of the health benefits of gym membership; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Department has worked closely with the fitness industry to establish a National Quality Assurance Framework for Exercise Referral and Register of Exercise Professionals to support the important contribution that gym-based exercise can make to health.
	While no market research has been conducted by the Department of Health to map the cost of membership of private and local authority gyms, a recent report by Deloitte and Tarp Worldwide on behalf of the Health and Fitness Foundation considered the impact of cost on exercise, including health club and leisure centre membership.
	The health benefits of gym membership relate to the level of participation by the individual. According to the Sport England Active People Survey conducted between October 2005 and October 2006, 10.5 per cent. of the adult population went to the gym at least once in the previous four weeks. Of these, 16.8 per cent. met the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) recommendation of at least 30 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity on five or more days of the week, exclusively through gym-based exercise. 27.9 per cent. of those who went to the gym at least once in the previous four weeks, were also reported as meeting the CMO's recommendation through moderate/vigorous intensity sport and active recreation. According to the survey, the average duration of a visit to the gym is 76 minutes. Gym-based exercise is likely to confer a significant general health benefit for those who participate regularly.

Health Trainers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the introduction of health trainers; which primary care trusts (PCTs) have employed health trainers; how many health trainers have been appointed by each of those PCTs; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: We do not have information on health trainers broken down by primary care trust (PCT). The programme for 2006-07 has been rolled out across spearhead PCTs with 2007-08 seeing the programme expanded to all PCTs.
	We do, however, have an overall figure of health trainers currently recruited to the programme, which stands at approximately 900. The vast majority of these are sited in spearhead PCTs.

HIV/AIDS

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding she has given to the Staying Alive HIV/AIDS prevention campaign in each year since 1998-99.

Caroline Flint: The Department has not funded the Staying Alive HIV/AIDS prevention campaign. The Department for International Development has, however provided funding in support of this campaign.

Human Sperm Donors

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps her Department will take to increase the numbers of human sperm donors;
	(2)  how many donations of human sperm in England were made in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many patients have been treated with human donated sperm in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: Information on the number of donors, and patients treated, is set out in the following table, produced by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. The recruitment of sperm donors is carried out at local level by some individual clinics. We fund the National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT) to help clinics in recruiting donors. The NGDT also promotes recruitment through increasing public awareness of the need for donors.
	
		
			   Number of sperm donors recruited  Number of patients undergoing in vitro fertilisation treatment using donor sperm  Number of patients undergoing donor insemination treatment 
			 1996 421 1,643 5,583 
			 1997 356 1,536 5,106 
			 1998 265 1,350 4,496 
			 1999 308 1,307 4,224 
			 2000 330 1,184 3,575 
			 2001 331 1,175 3,181 
			 2002 283 1,134 3,143 
			 2003 263 1,104 3,112 
			 2004 248 1,083 2,954 
			 2005 257 1,196 2,631

Infant Milk

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has  (a) commissioned and  (b) supported on the inclusion of synthetic fluorides in infant milk formulas.

Caroline Flint: The Department and the Food Standards Agency have not commissioned or supported research on this topic. The composition of infant formula is harmonised at European Union (EU)-level, and for fluoride reflects the recommendation of the EU Scientific Committee for Food that, on safety and nutritional grounds, no minimum level, but a maximum level of 100 milligrammes of fluoride per 100 kcal, should be set. This advice recognises the potential fluoride intakes of infants from supplements and/or water used to make up the formula.

Influenza Vaccine

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of eligible patients have received the influenza vaccine in each primary care trust.

Caroline Flint: Uptake of seasonal flu vaccine in eligible risk groups by primary care trust as at the end November 2006 is attached in the following table.
	
		
			  Uptake of seasonal flu vaccine in eligible risk groups as at end November 2006 
			  Percentage uptake 
			  PCT Name  65 years and over  All patients at-risk aged 6 months to under 65 at risk 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 60.2 36.6 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 54.9 30.6 
			 Barnet PCT 64.9 33.4 
			 Barnsley PCT 63.3 38.8 
			 Bassetlaw PCT 53.7 22.7 
			 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 69.1 28.9 
			 Bedfordshire PCT 65.1 30.9 
			 Berkshire East PCT 59.9 26.1 
			 Berkshire West PCT 66.7 35.4 
			 Bexley Care Trust 56.8 27.2 
			 Birmingham East and North PCT 62.7 27.7 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 60.4 40.1 
			 Blackpool PCT 63.3 34.5 
			 Bolton PCT 64.3 39.3 
			 Bournemouth and Poole PCT 67.0 38.3 
			 Bradford and Airedale PCT 68.8 36.4 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 62.7 36.2 
			 Brighton and Hove City PCT 64.6 35.2 
			 Bristol PCT 61.8 26.8 
			 Bromley PCT 57.5 27.1 
			 Buckinghamshire PCT 61.0 30.8 
			 Bury PCT 56.6 35.9 
			 Calderdale PCT 57.7 31.3 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 65.2 33.7 
			 Camden PCT 60.7 28.0 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 65.7 33.1 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 61.4 28.4 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 63.0 36.5 
			 Cornwall and Isles Of Scilly PCT 61.4 21.3 
			 County Durham PCT 68.9 34.1 
			 Coventry Teaching PCT 55.8 29.7 
			 Croydon PCT 59.9 28.3 
			 Cumbria PCT 65.5 36.5 
			 Darlington PCT 58.3 35.0 
			 Derby City PCT 62.7 32.9 
			 Derbyshire County PCT 67.6 34.0 
			 Devon PCT 58.7 22.2 
			 Doncaster PCT 63.2 27.4 
			 Dorset PCT 62.0 35.3 
			 Dudley PCT 59.2 32.7 
			 Ealing PCT 56.9 27.4 
			 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 66.1 32.0 
			 East Lancashire PCT 66.4 39.0 
			 East Riding Of Yorkshire PCT 69.0 40.2 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 62.8 30.2 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 61.4 22.5 
			 Enfield PCT 65.0 30.9 
			 Gateshead PCT 69.3 42.8 
			 Gloucestershire PCT 71.9 42.0 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 63.7 22.9 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 55.9 25.9 
			 Halton and St. Helens PCT 58.9 29.9 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 56.2 30.4 
			 Hampshire PCT 64.7 34.4 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 56.2 30.9 
			 Harrow PCT 64.7 34.0 
			 Hartlepool PCT 69.8 39.6 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 59.4 34.4 
			 Havering PCT 64.1 31.3 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 67.0 35.4 
			 Herefordshire PCT 63.2 40.3 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale 30.5 61.8 
			 Hillingdon PCT 62.8 34.0 
			 Hounslow PCT 58.2 32.6 
			 Hull PCT 64.5 37.6 
			 Isle of Wight Healthcare PCT 63.5 34.0 
			 Islington PCT 60.5 33.5 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 61.3 33.0 
			 Kingston PCT 58.7 30.2 
			 Kirklees PCT 64.1 34.8 
			 Knowsley PCT 63.1 30.9 
			 Lambeth PCT 53.5 31.6 
			 Leeds PCT 69.6 34.0 
			 Leicester City PCT 55.6 30.3 
			 Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 59.6 30.0 
			 Lewisham PCT 56.4 26.2 
			 Lincolnshire PCT 63.5 35.5 
			 Liverpool PCT 59.9 20.8 
			 Luton PCT 61.6 23.5 
			 Manchester PCT 66.1 31.4 
			 Medway PCT 67.6 36.9 
			 Mid Essex PCT 62.5 32.7 
			 Middlesbrough PCT 61.1 29.6 
			 Milton Keynes PCT 63.0 35.0 
			 Newcastle PCT 65.4 35.0 
			 Newham PCT 59.3 33.0 
			 Norfolk PCT 62.0 33.0 
			 North East Essex PCT 60.0 21.9 
			 North East Lincolnshire PCT 62.3 31.4 
			 North Lancashire PCT 59.6 37.7 
			 North Lincolnshire PCT 65.8 36.3 
			 North Somerset PCT 61.7 27.1 
			 North Staffordshire PCT 62.8 32.1 
			 North Tees PCT 54.2 28.2 
			 North Tyneside PCT 67.6 24.3 
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT 68.2 39.6 
			 Northamptonshire PCT 56.8 29.2 
			 Northumberland Care Trust 60.6 32.9 
			 Nottingham City PCT 58.0 29.8 
			 Nottinghamshire County PCT 60.7 32.3 
			 Oldham PCT 65.5 33.6 
			 Oxfordshire PCT 66.6 34.9 
			 Peterborough PCT 64.7 33.8 
			 Plymouth Teaching PCT 66.3 26.5 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 64.8 30.9 
			 Redbridge PCT 63.7 19.9 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 56.9 30.5 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 61.8 33.1 
			 Rotherham PCT 64.9 36.0 
			 Salford PCT 65.1 32.2 
			 Sandwell PCT 60.3 32.2 
			 Sefton PCT 66.1 30.7 
			 Sheffield PCT 61.8 32.5 
			 Shropshire County PCT 59.3 28.1 
			 Solihull PCT 65.1 34.6 
			 Somerset PCT 61.3 33.9 
			 South Birmingham PCT 58.3 29.2 
			 South East Essex PCT 62.5 32.9 
			 South Gloucestershire PCT 61.5 28.0 
			 South Staffordshire PCT 62.5 28.6 
			 South Tyneside PCT 67.8 38.0 
			 South West Essex PCT 62.5 31.4 
			 Southampton City PCT 63.0 32.2 
			 Southwark PCT 43.0 23.6 
			 Stockport PCT 66.4 26.5 
			 Stoke On Trent PCT 56.8 28.9 
			 Suffolk PCT 65.1 33.1 
			 Sunderland Teaching PCT 68.6 32.1 
			 Surrey PCT 62.7 31.4 
			 Sutton And Merton PCT 62.5 30.5 
			 Swindon PCT 61.9 34.7 
			 Tameside And Glossop PCT 66.3 34.7 
			 Telford And Wrekin PCT 63.8 36.5 
			 Torbay PCT 53.2 14.7 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 64.8 35.3 
			 Trafford PCT 71.7 31.3 
			 Wakefield District PCT 63.3 33.2 
			 Walsall Teaching PCT 64.9 36.7 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 65.2 36.7 
			 Wandsworth PCT 59.9 28.8 
			 Warrington PCT 63.2 27.2 
			 Warwickshire PCT 65.2 33.2 
			 West Cheshire PCT 67.7 34.6 
			 West Essex PCT 51.7 31.7 
			 West Hertfordshire PCT 67.8 34.9 
			 West Kent PCT 61.5 30.6 
			 West Sussex PCT 64.7 31.5 
			 Westminster PCT 55.0 27.9 
			 Wiltshire PCT 64.5 29.7 
			 Wirral PCT 63.6 29.1 
			 Wolverhampton City PCT 61.7 23.5 
			 Worcestershire PCT 65.7 34.6

NHS Appointments Commission

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used to determine whether the NHS Appointments Commission is meeting the goals it was given when it was first set up.

Rosie Winterton: The Appointments Commission has clear functions set out in legislation, most recently in the Health Act which established the body as a non executive departmental body on 1 October 2006. The Commission's annual business plan sets clear objectives and key performance indicators, as agreed by the Department who regularly monitor the Commission's performance.

NHS Recruitment

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent changes have occurred regarding the preference given to the employment of New Zealand doctors in the NHS.

Ivan Lewis: Employers are required to consider all applications for medical posts using the same criteria. However, they must take account of the immigration status of all candidates from outside the European Economic Area and, where relevant, should only appoint those doctors who require a work permit if there are no suitable applicants from the EEA.
	Since April 2006, doctors from outside the EEA have had to meet the requirements of one of the categories of the immigration rules that allows employment. This is in line with the rules for other professions.

NHS Trusts

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information the Department holds on  (a) chairs and  (b) non-executive directors of NHS trusts.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not collected centrally by the Department. However, information is collected by the Appointments Commission who have been asked to respond directly to my hon. Friend's inquiry.

Nutrigenomic Testing

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of trends in nutrigenomic testing and diets.

Caroline Flint: No assessment has been made of trends in nutrigenomic testing. However, the Food Standards Agency is investigating the possibility of including DNA analysis as part of the recently commissioned National Diet and Nutrition Survey programme. As well as considering the overall balance of the survey programme the inclusion of such work would also be subject to securing ethical approval.

Polonium

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) amount and  (b) type of radiation has been discovered during investigation into polonium traces; and what radiological restrictions (i) were applied by the emergency services in this case and (ii) are applied in accidental releases of polonium.

Caroline Flint: The polonium traces in the investigation into the death of Mr. Litvinenko were found to be Polonium-210 (Po-210). It occurs naturally and is present in the environment and in people at very low concentrations. It can also be made by irradiation of other materials. Polonium-210 has a half-life of 138 days. It undergoes decay by emitting alpha particles, accompanied by very low intensity gamma rays.
	Polonium-210 can only represent a radiation hazard if it is ingested, inhaled or otherwise taken into the body—for example, through an open wound. Where patches of contamination have been discovered in public places these have equated to polonium that weighs less than one millionth of a millionth of a gram—hence they are so low to cause no concern to immediate or longer term health.
	Police officers and the NHS Ambulance Service undertaking all activities in the death of Mr. Litvinenko are working to the principle of as low as is reasonably practicable (ALARP) and in addition are working to a maximum radiation dose constraint of 1 mSv. This is the legal limit of exposure for members of the public as defined under the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999. Though legislation and best practice allow higher dose limits for emergency activities and employees, setting this lower constraint level ensures that the risks to emergency workers are kept low.
	The Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) had no operational involvement in this case. In the case of an accidental release of polonium FRS personnel would be engaged only after a full assessment of the level of release had been made and specialist radiological advice obtained. Firefighter operations in the contaminated area would be restricted and those likely to be exposed would be equipped with appropriate personal and respiratory protective equipment. This and associated control measures adopted by the FRS would aim to protect staff from accidental release of Polonium-210.

Sexual Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were treated by the NHS for sexually transmitted infections in each year since 1997-98.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is published in "Diagnoses of selected STIs by region, sex and age group, United Kingdom: 1996-2005", copies of which have been placed in the Library.
	The document is also freely available on the following website:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/datatables2005.htm

Small Change, Big Difference Campaign

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much she has spent on the Small Change, Big Difference campaign in the financial year 2006-07.

Caroline Flint: Since its successful launch in April 2006, we have spent a total of £13,336 on initiatives branded Small Change Big Difference.
	Small Change Big Difference is an umbrella approach particularly relevant for healthy eating and physical activity. The concept will be incorporated into our forthcoming work as part of the social marketing strategy and obesity programme.
	It is a platform for engaging with stakeholders from the public and commercial sectors, with an opportunity for them to make a pledge to support healthy living and amplify it with their own customers and staff.

Voluntary Sector Organisations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to encourage voluntary sector organisations specialising in drug and alcohol dependency to work with  (a) those specialising in mental health and  (b) statutory sector mental health bodies.

Caroline Flint: The Department's 'National Framework for Mental Health', containing recommendations for dealing with people with a dual diagnosis of mental disorder and substance misuse, details best practice guidance on effective approaches to commissioning and the provision of treatment services. The framework advocates an integrated care mechanism for those diagnosed with both mental health and substance misuse problems, drawing on the expertise of all local providers, voluntary organisations and other to deliver effective service improvement.
	For drug and alcohol misuse, there is a recognition that a significant number of those presenting for treatment have associated mental health problems.
	The updated 'Models of Care for treatment of adult drug misusers', published in June 2006, reflects this link by emphasising the importance of drug treatment services developing integrated care pathways for vulnerable groups, including those with dual diagnosis to ensure optimum treatment outcomes for those in treatment. It should be noted that as the voluntary sector is a major provider in terms of drug treatment the links with mental health bodies, including those in the statutory sector are already well established and we will continue to use all available opportunities to maintain and strengthen these links.
	Similarly, for alcohol misuse, the Department, in conjunction with the National Treatment Agency in June 2006 published 'Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers (MoCAM'). This provides guidance to local national health service organisations in developing an integrated system of interventions and treatment to meet the needs of local people whose alcohol use is harmful. It is expected that MoCAM will be used by primary care trusts working in partnership with local commissioning groups and local service providers. This will include both the voluntary and mental health services.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) deaths and  (b) injuries to civilians in Afghanistan during 2006 have given rise to Special Investigation Branch inquiries.

Des Browne: holding answer 8 January 2007
	During 2006 the Special Investigation Board conducted one investigation relating to the death of civilians, following reports that civilians had been killed during an airstrike on 31 July in Helmand Province.

Armed Forces: Bereaved Families

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support his Department plans to provide from April 2007 onwards to enable bereaved families to visit the graves overseas of family members who died while in the armed services.

Derek Twigg: Since 1963, for Northwest Europe, and 1967 for the rest of the world, the Ministry of Defence has offered to repatriate the bodies of all those who die in military service, for burial in the United Kingdom. However, if the family elect to have a funeral overseas, the Ministry of Defence will pay for the next of kin and a companion to attend at public expense and, should local conditions prevent their attendance, then a visit to the grave may be arranged up to two years after the death. While this policy of repatriation was not made retrospective, in the event of the discovery of identifiable human remains on a historic battlefield, or crash site, the Department will, assuming we can trace their relatives, provide the opportunity for two people to attend the service funeral at public expense.
	In addition, since 1985, widows and widowers whose husband or wife died overseas as a result of service in HM armed forces between 1914 and 1967 have been entitled to visit their spouse's grave/memorial through the Government funded war widow/ers pilgrimage scheme, provided they have not done so before at public expense. The scheme also funds a carer to accompany the widow/er on the UK section of the pilgrimage, from which point appropriate care is provided. We review periodically the administration of the scheme, which is administered for the Department by the Royal British Legion, but we have no plans to change our policy for eligible war widow/ers to visit their spouse's grave/memorial.

Chaplains

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military chaplains there were in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) armed service,  (b) rank and  (c) faith.

Derek Twigg: The number of trained military chaplains in the UK Regular Forces in each of the last five years broken down by rank and service is shown in the following table. In addition to the Christian chaplains shown, chaplains from the four main non-Christian faiths were appointed in October 2005, one each from the Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Sikh faiths. These chaplains are MOD civil servants rather than service personnel. There is also an honorary officiating chaplain to minister to those of the Jewish faith.
	
		
			   As at 1 April each year  
			  Rank  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  1 November 2006( 1) 
			  All services 300 295 290 295 290 285 (2)285 
			 OF-5 and above 20 20 20 25 20 20 (2)20 
			 OF-4 50 55 55 55 60 60 (2)60 
			 OF-3 130 125 125 125 120 125 (2)135 
			 OF-2 100 100 90 90 90 75 (2)70 
			 OF-1 (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (4)— (2,4)— 
			 
			  Naval service( 5) 75 70 65 70 70 65 (2)65 
			 OF-5 and above 5 5 10 10 10 10 (2)5 
			 OF-4 15 15 15 10 15 15 (2)15 
			 OF-3 25 25 25 25 25 25 (2)25 
			 OF-2 25 25 20 20 20 20 (2)15 
			 
			  Army 150 150 150 150 145 145 145 
			 OF-5 and above 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 
			 OF-4 20 20 20 20 15 20 20 
			 OF-3 55 55 65 70 70 75 75 
			 OF-2 65 65 55 50 50 45 45 
			 OF-1 (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (4)— (4)— 
			 
			  RAF 75 75 70 75 75 75 (2)70 
			 OF-5 and above (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— 
			 OF-4 15 20 25 25 30 30 (2)25 
			 OF-3 50 45 35 30 20 30 (2)35 
			 OF-2 5 10 10 20 20 10 (2)10 
		
	
	The number of trained military chaplains in each of the last five years broken down by denomination and service is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   As at 1 April each year  
			  Denomination  2001( 6)  2002( 6)  2003( 6)  2004( 6)  2005( 6)  2006( 7)  1 November 2006( 1,7) 
			  Naval service( 5) 75 70 65 70 70 65 65(2) 
			 Baptist (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— (4)— (2,4)— 
			 Church of England (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— 35 (2)35 
			 Church of Scotland (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— 10 (2)10 
			 Free Church of Scotland (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— (4)— (2,4)— 
			 Methodist (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— (4)— (2,4)— 
			 Roman Catholic (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— (8)— 10 (2)10 
			 
			  Army 150 150 150 150 145 145 145 
			 Baptist 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 
			 Calvinistic Church of Wales (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (4)— 
			 Church of England 80 75 75 75 75 70 70 
			 Church of Ireland 10 10 5 5 5 10 10 
			 Church of Scotland 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 
			 Church of Wales (4)— 5 (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— 
			 Episcopalian - Scottish (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— 
			 Free Church of Scotland (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (4)— (4)— 
			 Methodist 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Presbyterian - Ireland (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— 
			 Presbyterian - Scotland (4)— (4)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— 
			 Roman Catholic 20 25 25 25 25 25 20 
			 Unified Reformed Church (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— 
			 
			  RAF 75 75 70 75 75 75 (2)70 
			 Baptist (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (8)— 
			 Church of England 50 50 45 45 45 45 (8)— 
			 Church of Ireland (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (8)— 
			 Church of Scotland 5 5 5 5 5 5 (8)— 
			 Methodist 5 5 5 5 5 5 (8)— 
			 Presbyterian (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (8)— 
			 Roman Catholic 10 10 10 10 10 10 (8)— 
			 (1) Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system, the breakdown of naval service chaplains by rank and denomination is provisional at November 2006 and a breakdown of RAF chaplains by denomination is not available at November 2006. The total number of naval service and RAF chaplains at November 2006 is provisional pending review. (2) Denotes provisional. (3) Denotes zero. (4 )Denotes fewer than five. All other figures have been rounded to the nearest five. (5) Naval Service includes Royal Navy and Royal Marines. (6) A breakdown of naval service chaplains by denomination is not available prior to April 2006 as this information is not held centrally. (7) The naval service totals for April 2006 and November 2006 include five Christian chaplains of unknown denomination. The Army totals for April 2006 and November 2006 include fewer than five Christian chaplains of unknown denomination. The RAF total for April 2006 includes fewer than five Christian chaplains of unknown denomination. (8) Denotes not available. 
		
	
	UK regular forces excludes full-time reserve service personnel, Ghurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists.

Departmental Budget

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there have been in-year changes to his Department's budget.

Adam Ingram: There have been changes to the budget to reflect alterations to Top Level Budget Holders (TLB) allocations of Resource funding to bring the allocations into line with responsibility transfers between TLBs, and other adjustments to reflect the defence outputs required since Main Estimates. The effect of these transfers is shown in the Winter Supplementary Estimates. There will be further adjustments in the Spring Supplementary Estimates.

Departmental Correspondence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the  (a) meetings and  (b) correspondence between him and (i) defence manufacturers and (ii) defence industry lobbyists in the last 12 months.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Ministers have held the following meetings with defence manufacturers, defence industry lobby groups and trades unions over the period 1 December 2005 to 1 December 2006.
	
		
			  Date  
			  Secretary of State for Defence 
			 26 July 2006 Meeting with representatives from CSEU, Amicus, T and G and GMB trades unions 
			 19 July 2006 Meeting with representatives from Amicus 
			 18 July 2006 Meeting with a representative from SBAC 
			 28 June 2006 Meeting with representatives from Rolls-Royce 
			 18 January 2006 Meeting with local trade union representatives Amicus, GMB and Prospect 
			 11 January 2006 Meeting with representatives from Amicus 
			   
			  Minister for the Armed Forces 
			 28 November 2006 Defence Aircraft Repair Agency Management Advisory Board 
			 21 November 2006 Army Base Repair Organisation Owners Council Meeting 
			 4 July 2006 Army Base Repair Organisation Owners Council Meeting 
			 2 March 2006 Meeting with representatives from the Army Base Repair Organisation and from Amicus and GMB unions 
			   
			  Minister for Defence Procurement 
			 27 November 2006 Meeting with a representative from QinetiQ 
			 24 November 2006 Meeting with representatives from Agusta Westland 
			 23 November 2006 Meeting with representatives from General Dynamics UK 
			 22 November 2006 Meeting with a representative from EADS 
			 16 November 2006 Meeting with representatives from Atkins 
			 9 November 2006 Meeting with a representative from VT Group 
			 9 November 2006 Meeting with representatives from BAE Systems 
			 6 November 2006 Meeting with industry representatives at Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) Alliance Board 
			 2 November 2006 Meeting with industry representatives at the National Defence Industries Council 
			 1 November 2006 Meeting with representatives from MBDA 
			 31 October 2006 Meeting with representatives from Amicus 
			 25 October 2006 Meeting with representatives from Lockheed Martin 
			 23 October 2006 Ministerial meeting with representatives from EADS 
			 29 September 2006 Meeting with representatives from Thales 
			 28 September 2006 Meeting with representatives from Boeing 
			 20 September 2006 Meeting with a representative from VT Group 
			 19 September 2006 Meeting with representatives from Lockheed Martin 
			 26 July 2006 Meeting with the Secretary of State and representatives from AMICUS 
			 24 July 2006 Meeting with trade union delegation from BAE Systems Barrow 
			 21 July 2006 Meeting with representative from Thales 
			 19 July 2006 Meeting with Secretary of State and representatives from AMICUS 
			 13 July 2006 Meeting with representatives from BAE Systems 
			 11 July 2006 Meeting with representatives from KBR 
			 6 July 2006 Meeting with representatives from MBDA 
			 28 June 2006 Secretary of State's meeting with a representative from Rolls-Royce plc 
			 28 June 2006 Meeting with representatives from EADS 
			 26 June 2006 Meeting with representatives from Lockheed Martin 
			 21 June 2006 Meeting with a representative from Surrey Satellites 
			 20 June 2006 Two meetings with representatives from BAE Systems 
			 15 June 2006 Meeting with trade union representatives from Swan Hunter 
			 8 June 2006 Meeting with a representative from Babcock 
			 8 June 2006 Meeting with trade union representatives from MBDA 
			 7 June 2006 Meeting with representatives from Rothschild 
			 6 June 2006 Meeting with representatives from KBR and DML 
			 18 May 2006 Meeting with representatives from the BAE Systems Borough trade unions, CSEU and GMB 
			 18 May 2006 Meeting with a representative from BAE Systems 
			 17 May 2006 Meeting with two representatives from Rolls Royce 
			 10 May 2006 Meeting with representatives from MBDA 
			 9 May 2006 Meeting with representatives from Lockheed Martin 
			 4 May 2006 Meeting with representatives from Thales 
			 4 May 2006 Meeting with a representative from Agusta Westland 
			 3 May 2006 Meeting with a representative from BAE Systems 
			 3 May 2006 Meeting with a representative from Agusta Westland 
			 3 May 2006 Meeting with trade union representatives from Agusta Westland 
			 27 Apr 2006 Meeting with representative from GKN 
			 20 Apr 2006 Meeting with representatives from Ultra Electronics 
			 20 Apr 2006 Meeting with representatives from KBR 
			 30 March 2006 Meeting with representative from P and O and Transco 
			 30 March 2006 Two meetings with representatives from BAE Systems 
			 27 March 2006 Meeting with representatives from Thales 
			 22 March 2006 Meeting with representatives from the VT Group 
			 9 March 2006 Meeting with a representative from General Dynamics 
			 7 March 2006 Meeting with a representative from BAE Systems 
			 2 March 2006 Meeting with a representative from Thales 
			 9 February 2006 Meeting with a representative from EADS 
			 8 February 2006 Meeting with a representative from MBDA 
			 30 January 2006 Meeting with a representative from Northrop Grumman 
			 24 January 2006 Meeting with representatives from Thales 
			 24 January 2006 Meeting with representatives from EADS 
			 13 January 2006 Meeting with a representative from VTOL Technologies Ltd 
			 12 December 2005 Meeting with representatives from Chemring 
			 1 December 2005 Meetings with representatives from BAE Systems 
			 1 December 2005 Meeting with representatives from Raytheon 
			   
			  Under Secretary of State for Defence 
			 1 November 2006 Meeting with representatives from EDS Defence Ltd 
			 29 June 2006 Meeting with a representative from the National Employer Advisory Board 
			 19 Apr 2006 Meeting with representatives from Sodexho Defence Services 
		
	
	A list of all correspondence between the Defence Ministers and defence manufacturers and defence industry lobby groups is not held by the MOD and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Falklands War

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what events have been planned to commemorate the 25(th) anniversary of the Falkland Islands War.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence is organising events to commemorate the 25(th) anniversary of the Falklands conflict in June 2007. I refer the hon. Member to the details that I gave in a written ministerial statement on 16 November 2006,  Official Report, column 2WS.

Falklands War

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider awarding the South Atlantic Medal to all servicemen and women who served on HMS Ledbury, HMS Brecon and RMS St. Helena during the Falklands campaign of 1982; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The eligibility criteria for the South Atlantic Medal 1982 were carefully and extensively considered at the time. There are no plans to review these criteria.

Grenadier Guards

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on 1 Battalion Grenadier Guards of the withdrawal of some of the troops' longer separation allowance.

Derek Twigg: The allowance to which the hon. Gentleman refers the accumulated turbulence bonuses (ATB). These are ending on 31 March 2007 following a decision agreed in 2003 as part of a rebalancing of pay and allowances to target better those personnel who experience the most separation. This change has been well publicised across all three services.
	The 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards made a representation to retain the ATB for the duration of their tour of Afghanistan between March and November 2007. While full consideration was given to the representation, it was concluded that there was no justification for treating them differently from other parts of the armed forces. ATB will however be paid to those personnel who qualify for it until the end of March 2007. After that, they will move onto the new allowance system—longer separation allowance—which has a maximum daily payment of £25.42 per day, compared with the current maximum daily payment of £12.82.

Infantry: Recruitment and Target Strength

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of television advertising campaigns in 2006 in encouraging the recruitment of infantry personnel.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 9 January 2007
	It is not possible to accurately identify the numbers of responses specifically generated by television advertising. However, Army advertising as a whole over the period 1 April to 1 December 2006 generated 163,770 inquiries to join the Regular Army. This compares very favourably with 88,000 inquiries for the same period last year. Of these, the Army judges that the multi-media Infantry 'Forward as One' campaign generated 113,000 inquiries, with the balance attributable to the 'Everest West Ridge' campaign. From these campaigns, the Army has received 30,020 specific inquiries to join the Infantry. Enlistments to the Infantry are currently up 30 per cent. compared with the same period in the financial year 2005-06 and the number of newly trained infantrymen that are forecast to join their units by the end of this financial year is up 15 per cent. on last year.

Infantry: Recruitment and Target Strength

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the target strength was for the infantry  (a) as a whole and  (b) for the Scottish infantry for the years ending 31 March (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003, (iv) 2004, (v) 2005 and (vi) 2006; what the actual strengths were in each case in each year; what the original recruiting target was for each of these years in each case; and whether the target was revised;
	(2)  whether the original recruiting targets for the  (a) infantry and  (b) Scottish infantry were achieved;
	(3)  what recruiting targets for the  (a) infantry and  (b) Scottish infantry have been set for the year ending 31 March 2007; and what recruitment has been to date in 2006-07.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 13 December 2006
	The following tables show the target and actual strength of the Regular Army Infantry as at 1 April 2001-06. The 'target strength' is presented in terms of Liability. Liability is not available by Infantry Division.
	
		
			  Trained Infantry Strengths and Liabilities( 1,2) 
			   Regular Army Infantry Liability( 3)  Infantry Strength( 3,4)  Scottish Division Strength( 5) 
			 2001 26,740 25,690 3,650 
			 2002 26,740 25,640 3,650 
			 2003 26,200 25,480 3,670 
			 2004 26,360 25,870 3,700 
			 2005 24,420 25,060 3,640 
			 2006 24,450 24,080 3,510 
			 (1) Figures are for all infantry trained officers and soldiers (excluding colonels and above) regardless of where they are serving e.g. it includes elements of the manning and training margin, including infantry cap badged soldiers and officers who are serving in E1-E3 posts, on the Y list etc. Figures exclude Gurkhas.  (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  (3) Figures include Scottish Division  (4) Strength figures include Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel figures (5) Figures exclude the Scots Guards. 
		
	
	The Army Recruiting and Training Division, which is responsible for the recruitment and training of soldiers, recruits infantry soldiers to the three infantry career employment groups; line, parachute and guards, not to specific infantry capbadges.
	Recruiting targets for the infantry, and achievements into training for the Financial Years 2000-01 to 2005-06, are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Infantry recruiting target  Infantry enlistment achievement 
			 2000-01 Record not available 4,840 
			 2001-02 5,160 4,490 
			 2002-03 4,270 4,950 
			 2003-04 4,460 4,620 
			 2004-05 4,150 3,410 
			 2005-06 4,150 3,450 
		
	
	Statistics have been rounded to the nearest 10, and numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Iraq

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many complaints of abuse have been made by Iraqi detainees  (a) against UK forces and  (b) against the Queens Lancashire regiment, excluding those currently under court martial;
	(2)  how many Iraqi detainees have  (a) been injured and  (b) died in British custody in Iraq since 2003.

Des Browne: Since the Divisional Temporary Detention Facility was established in December 2003 there have been no deaths or injuries as a result of the actions of UK personnel guarding the facility.
	The number of complaints of abuse made by Iraqi detainees is not held centrally. It is Ministry of Defence policy to initiate a service police investigation where there are any grounds to suspect that a criminal act has or might have been committed by service personnel, or where the rules of engagement have been breached. This includes those who work in the Divisional Temporary Detention Facility.
	Since operations commenced in 2003, there have been 213 investigations conducted by the Royal Military Police, 195 of which were closed with no further action. 41 investigations related to the death or ill-treatment of Iraqi detainees. Of these, 35 cases have been closed, two cases have been dealt with by courts martial, one case is currently being tried by court martial, one case has been dealt with summarily by the commanding officer and two investigations are ongoing.
	There have been two cases against members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment in addition to that currently under court martial.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the occasions since he has held his present office when he has used  (a) rail services,  (b) the London Underground,  (c) tram or light railway services and (d) buses in connection with his ministerial duties.

Derek Twigg: Under the Ministerial Code Departments are expected to make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements, taking due account of security considerations in accordance with the rules set out in Travel by Ministers. The Secretary of State for Defence has travelled overseas by rail on two occasions; the first was for a return journey between London and Brussels. The second trip involved a journey from London to Brussels, an interconnecting rail journey between Brussels and Paris before returning to London from Paris. Domestic rail services have been used for a single journey from London to Plymouth, a return journey between London and Colchester, and a single journey from Inverness to Edinburgh.
	The Secretary of State has made no journeys on the London Underground, tram or light railway services or buses in connection with his ministerial duties.

Parliamentary Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will answer substantively question 105862, on engagements, tabled by the hon. Member for Forest of Dean on 23 November for answer on 29 November.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 19 December 2006
	I replied to the hon. Member on 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 101W.

Public Finance Contracts

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) public-private partnerships and  (b) private finance initiative contracts have been entered into by his Department; what assets were transferred to the private sector as part of each deal; what the value of these assets was; what the total cost is of each contract; and what estimate was made of the cost to his Department of traditional procurement over the life of each contract.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 December 2006,  Official Report, column 447W, which listed the PFI contracts and their cost. However, the information published in Hansard contained an error, which will be corrected in the bound volume. The correct values for the C-Vehicles project should have been as follows:
	
		
			  Project name  Estimated capital value  (£ million)  Contract length year  Total estimated contract payments (£ million) 
			 C-vehicles 114 15 742 
		
	
	Information on assets transferred as part of the contracts and the estimates made of the cost of traditional procurement over the life of each contract is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department has signed a further 25 deals that are either below £20 million or involve a significant IT/IS element. Information on these, including estimated capital values, are held on the Treasury website available at
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public_private_partnerships/ppp_pfi_stats.cfm.
	In addition to the PFI contracts described above, on 1 July 2001 the majority of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency's (DERA) assets were transferred into QinetiQ Ltd. under a public-private partnership deal. These assets were described in Schedule 2 of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Trading Fund Order 2001, Statutory Instrument 2001 no. 1246, and had an estimated value of £394.5 million. The PPP process has to date raised proceeds for the taxpayer of around £600 million with MOD's retained stake in the company worth around a further £250 million.

Scottish Regiments

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers from Scottish regiments left the Army in each month since 1 April 2005; and how many have applied to leave during 2006-07 to date.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 13 December 2006
	The following table shows the number of outflows for trained soldiers from the Infantry Scottish Division Regiments in each month from 1 April 2005 to date.
	
		
			  Date of outflow  Number 
			 April 2005 40 
			 May 2005 40 
			 June 2005 40 
			 July 2005 40 
			 August 2005 30 
			 September 2005 20 
			 October 2005 30 
			 November 2005 20 
			 December 2005 20 
			 January 2006 50 
			 February 2006 40 
			 March 2006 30 
			 April 2006 40 
			 May 2006 20 
			 June 2006 40 
			 July 2006 20 
			 August 2006 30 
			 September 2006 30 
		
	
	Trained soldiers serving in the Infantry Scottish Division Regiments gave 110 applications to leave during the period 1 April 2006 to 30 September 2006.

Working Hours

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average working hours were for civilian personnel in his Department in each year since 2001.

Derek Twigg: The average number of hours worked by civilian personnel employed in the Ministry of Defence during the years from 2001 were:
	
		
			  Year( 1)  Average 
			 2001 36.2 
			 2002 36.0 
			 2003 36.0 
			 2004 35.9 
			 2005 36.1 
			 2006 36.1 
			 ( 1) A snapshot of the first week in March each year has been taken because of the way historic records are maintained.   Notes: 1. Hours shown are net (excluding meal breaks for staff on gross conditioned hours) and include basic net hours plus overtime and any other additional working hours  2.Staff employed in MOD's trading funds have been excluded.  3. Includes part-time staff as whole numbers. In 2006, the number of part-time staff amounted to 6,340 but it has not been possible in the timescale to provide separate numbers for all years.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Science A-Levels

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of students studying science at A-level.

Bill Rammell: The Government set out a range of initiatives in the 'Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014: Next Steps' document which should encourage the study of science to A-level and beyond.

School Meals

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of guidelines on deep-fried products in school meals on school children's diets.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department has not made such an assessment.
	The School Food Trust will have preliminary findings related to changes in the provision of school food available later this year. However, it will not be possible to separate the impact of the food-based standard related to deep-fried products from the other food-based standards. Preliminary results on children's consumption will be available in 2009 (for primary schools) and in 2010 (for secondary schools).

Pay Rates

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he has taken to eliminate pay differences between lecturers in further education and teachers in schools.

Bill Rammell: The FE White Paper (2006) reinforced the commitment to close the funding gap between schools and colleges. Funding for FE has increased by 48 per cent. in real terms between 1997 and 2005. Over the next two years (2006-07 and 2007-08) funding for FE participation will increase in cash terms by over £300 million (7 per cent.).
	FE providers are, however, independent organisations. We believe it is important that each provider retains the discretion to make their own decisions about pay for their staff, within their overall budget.

Leitch Report

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the findings of the Leitch Report on skills.

Bill Rammell: I warmly welcome the Leitch review and its stretching skills ambitions for 2020. Its analysis is clear; if we are to compete in the global economy of 2020, we must have a world-class skills base. The Government have accepted the recommendations of the Report; now there must be shared responsibility for delivering the ambition. Employers, individuals and Government must work together to transform the level of investment in skills. We will publish an implementation plan in the context of the Comprehensive Spending Review settlement later this year.

Children's Centres

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in delivering health-visiting and maternity services through children's centres.

Beverley Hughes: We now have over 1050 Sure Start Children's Centres providing a range of multi-agency support services for families with young children. We would expect to see health-visiting and maternity services provided from children's centres, or have strong links with centres. It is for Primary Care Trusts in partnership with local authorities to make decisions about which health services should be delivered through children's centres, but we want to see a strong health presence particularly in centres in more disadvantaged areas, as well as PCT's running children's centres as the lead agency.

Children's Centres

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made towards the target of delivering a children's centre in every community by 2010.

Beverley Hughes: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley (Kitty Ussher).

Pupil Exclusions

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he plans to collect information about school exclusions on a school-by-school basis.

Jim Knight: The Department already collects this information. We publish the exclusions data at local authority rather than at school level, because there is more demand for them at local authority level and we can be more confident of their robustness and reliability at that level.

Swimming

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how the national curriculum requirement on swimming will be financed in the next two financial years.

Parmjit Dhanda: Swimming is a compulsory part of the national curriculum for physical education in primary schools. Funding for schools to deliver their statutory responsibilities, including delivery of the national curriculum, is passed to schools through their delegated budgets.

Post-16 Education

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what comparative assessment he has made of the objectives of the education provided to 16 to 18-year-olds by technical colleges and sixth-forms; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: There is no single pattern of post-16 provision that meets the needs of all 16 to 19-year-old learners. Our plans for a transformed 14-19 phase include a rich choice of learning opportunities—whether in schools, colleges or in other settings—from which young people can choose what best meets their needs, aptitudes and aspirations. Different settings may have different learning objectives but institutions will need to cooperate to provide a broad and high quality offer that meets the needs of all young people in their area.

Adult Education

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the budget allocation for adult education was in  (a) England and  (b) Shropshire in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: The Department allocates funds for education and training in the post-16 learning and skills sector to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The LSC was established in 2001 bringing the planning and funding of post-16 education together under one body.
	In 2001-02 the Learning and Skills Council spent £2,236 million on adult programmes including FE, Work-Based Learning, Adult and Community Learning and other programmes. This increased to £2,427 million in 2002-03, £2,866 million in 2003-04, £2,999 million in 2004-05 and £3,264 million for 2005-06. Adult funding for Shropshire has increased from £24.99 million in 2003-04 to £28.55 million in 2004-05 and £30.56 million in 2005-06. Due to changes in the collection of information local figures for earlier years are not available. Figures for adult education for the period 1997-2001 are not comparable as the budget was split between a range of different organisations.

Age Discrimination

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has had discussions with the Learning and Skills Council on the implications of the new age discrimination legislation for state-funded work-based learning, including apprenticeships; and if he will publish guidance for training providers on the effects of that legislation.

Phil Hope: The new age discrimination legislation is the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The Learning and Skills Council has advised that training providers should seek advice and guidance on the new legislation from the DTI.
	The DTI has produced guidance on age discrimination including a guide for providers of vocational training. This guidance is available to download from its website at:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/discrimination/age-discrimination/page26492.html
	and is reproduced as follows:
	 A Guide for Providers of Vocational Training
	 What does 'Vocational training' mean?
	For the purposes of the regulations, the term 'vocational training' is more than just training provided by employers for their own employees. Vocational training should be taken to include a wide range of activities, including:
	all types of training which would help fit a person for employment, including practical work experience;
	all further, higher and other adult education (but not education of pupils in schools);
	vocational guidance;
	 To whom do the regulations apply?
	The regulations will apply to vocational training providers across the statutory, private and voluntary sectors, regardless of whether they receive any public funding. Some of the regulations apply specifically to bodies that award qualifications.
	 Are all courses at Universities and Further Education Colleges covered by the regulations?
	Yes, the UK Government has decided that all courses at Institutions of Further and Higher Education should be covered by the age regulations, whether they are specifically vocational or more general in nature. This is to ensure there is a unified approach to age-related practices and policies in relation to all such provision.
	 To whom do the regulations apply?
	The regulations will apply to vocational training providers across the statutory, private and voluntary sectors, regardless of whether they receive any public funding. Some of the regulations apply specifically to bodies that award qualifications.
	 Are all courses at Universities and Further Education Colleges covered by the regulations?
	Yes, the UK Government has decided that all courses at Institutions of Further and Higher Education should be covered by the age regulations, whether they are specifically vocational or more general in nature. This is to ensure there is a unified approach to age-related practices and policies in relation to all such provision.
	 What does this mean for vocational training providers?
	As a general principle the regulations mean that providers will not be able to set age limits or age-related criteria for 'vocational training' activities (as defined above).
	In addition they will not generally be able to set such age limits for associated benefits or conditions, such as help with travelling costs.
	However, the regulations do recognise that certain age-related practices may be justifiable where they are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Such objective justification will not be an easy test, and providers of vocational training will have to produce supporting evidence if challenged: assertions that an age-based approach was necessary will not be enough. For further information on objective justification, please refer to pages 30 and 31 of the Acas guidance.
	If you provide vocational training and currently set age limits or requirements, you will need to consider whether these are capable of being justified. You would have to be able to demonstrate this if challenged.
	 What about funding? Isn't that access?
	Article 3.3 of the Directive clearly states that the Directive does not apply to payments of any kind made by state schemes. The power to make provision for support for students is set out in section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998. The grants and loans for tuition fees and maintenance paid to students under the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2006 (which are made under section 22) are from public funds. Student support in the UK is therefore a "state scheme". As such funding falls outside scope of the Directive it is not covered by the age regulations.
	Maintenance loans for students affect maintenance during study, not admission to a course of study. They are not related to access and fall outside the scope of the Directive.
	Bursaries and scholarships are also not covered, because they are incentives, as opposed to relating directly to access.
	 What about learning programmes supported by Government funding that has age limits?
	Age limits set in relation to Government funding are outside the scope of the Directive, as explained above. However, any decision to deny access to a training course to people outside that age group would need to be objectively justified by the training provider.
	 What does this mean for a training provider?
	What this means is illustrated by the following two examples:
	Training Provider X run an IT course which receives Government funding for participants under 25. The training provider only admit people within this age limit and refuses places to anybody 26 or over on grounds of their age. This would have to be objectively justified.
	Training Provider Y also run an IT course which receives Government funding for participants under 25, who are offered free/subsidised places. However, rather than denying access to people aged 26 or over they instead require them to pay for their own place on the course. This would not need to be objectively justified.
	For further information on objective justification, please refer to pages 30 and 31 of the Acas guidance.
	 What else do I need to know?
	There is also a provision in the regulations which allows for Positive Action to be taken in connection with access to vocational training, to compensate for disadvantages linked to age. e.g. where particular age groups may be under-represented in particular occupations.
	Positive action should not be confused with positive discrimination. A guarantee of work once the training is completed should never be offered or implied. For further information on positive action, please refer to page 29 of the Acas guidance.
	 Can you give me an example of a legitimate aim?
	As Article 6(1)(a) of the EU Employment Directive makes clear, the protection of vulnerable groups is a legitimate aim. The promotion of vocational integration is also a legitimate aim listed in the Directive. Special employment-related measures to integrate particular sections of the population into the workforce are common throughout the EU. For example, the UK Government supports apprenticeship programmes which are designed by employers to develop occupational competence and wider employability, and hence help to integrate into the workforce those who would otherwise lack the necessary skills.
	 What does vocational integration mean?
	The process of vocational integration should lead to an individual benefiting from educational opportunities, in order to become employable, and to achieve employment. Although the term "vocational integration" cannot be precisely defined, it relates to any action intended to help the transition of individuals from education or unemployment to work and their integration into the working world, or the movement of individuals between occupations.
	It should be remembered, however, that education of pupils in schools does not constitute vocational training within the meaning of the Directive.
	 Other things to consider
	The following are just some of the issues vocational training providers will need to consider:
	Do you set a minimum or maximum age for entry generally or in relation to admission or access to particular courses or other relevant activities?
	Is age taken into account in any way when considering applications for admission or access, or associated benefits and conditions e.g. do you offer preferential fee discount arrangements based on age? Do you provide residential accommodation to students of all ages, or are students over or under certain ages not offered accommodation?
	If so, can you objectively justify any age related criteria? What legitimate aim does any age related criterion help you achieve, e.g. have you clear evidence that demonstrates particular age groups would be excluded from your learning provision if they had to pay full fees?
	Are your age related criteria a proportionate means of achieving that aim? Is there another way of achieving that aim without resorting to setting age limits?
	All such matters need to be critically examined in the light of the Regulations.
	Acas have also produced a booklet called 'Guidance on Age and the workplace: a guide for employers'. This booklet is also aimed at providers of vocational training and is available from their website at http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=337 or can be obtained in hard copy from any of the 13 Acas regional offices covering England, Scotland and Wales. (It can also be ordered by telephone, direct from Acas Publications, on 08702 429090.) A copy has been placed in the Library.

Agricultural Colleges

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applications were made to agricultural colleges in the United Kingdom in each year from 2004-05 to 2006-07; what funding each college received in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: I can confirm the funding allocations that each agricultural college received from the Learning and Skills Council in each year from 2004-05 to 2006-07 as listed in the following table. For 2006-07 a number of agricultural colleges have been successful in the tendering process for Train to Gain, our new national programme of workplace training for adults. The contract values for those successful agricultural colleges is set out as follows, including those colleges which have successfully led consortia bids; other colleges may also be involved in Train to Gain through collaboration with other providers.
	We do not hold information on the number of applications received from agricultural colleges.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  FE Agricultural colleges  2004-05 final allocation  2005-06 final allocation  Percentage change  2006-07 Latest allocation  Percentage change  Train to Gain contract value for 2006/07 (Sole bidder/ Consortium) 
			 Askham Bryan College 4.4 4.7 +6.1 4.9 +6.7 1.1 
			 Berkshire College 4.4 4.5 +0.6 4.9 +9.8 n/a 
			 Bicton 4.4 4.5 +1.6 4.3 3.0 n/a 
			 Bishop Burton 6.0 6.1 +1.1 6.5 +6.4 163,945 
			 Brooksby Melton 6.2 6.3 +1.7 6.4 +0.3 n/a 
			 Capel Manor 4.6 5.0 +9.5 5.3 +6.0 n/a 
			 Easton 3.1 3.3 +4.6 4.0 +23.6 n/a 
			 Hadlow 3.4 3.7 +7.2 4.5 +21.7 n/a 
			 Hartpury 7.0 7.4 +5.2 7.8 +5.9 n/a 
			 Kingston Maurward 3.7 3.9 +5.5 4.0 +2.0 n/a 
			 Moulton 8.5 9.6 +13.5 10.8 +12.0 n/a 
			 Myerscough 8.3 9.3 +12.6 10.1 +8.5 46,725 
			 Otley 8.3 8.3 0 8.4 +1.0 n/a 
			 Pershore Group 3.3 3.6 +10 3.7 +2.8 n/a 
			 Plumpton 3.8 4.0 +5.7 4.3 +9.1 n/a 
			 Reaseheath 5.6 5.9 +6.2 6.8 +14.6 382,830 
			 Rodbaston 3.7 3.9 +5.4 4.1 +3.7 n/a 
			 Sparsholt, Hampshire 8.3 9.0 +8.8 9.7 +7.1 n/a 
			 Total 97.0 103.0 +6.1 110.5 +7.3 —

Bookstart

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost to date has been of the Bookstart programme; and what titles have been distributed.

Beverley Hughes: The Bookstart programme was initiated, and is now administered, by the independent charity Booktrust.
	The titles for distribution are selected by a panel made up of librarians, health visitors, speech and language therapists, early years educationalists and Bookstart members. The panel is independent and has no involvement from Government.
	Information about books which are distributed is available online at:
	http://www.bookstart.co.uk/Parents-and-carers/Packs/Bookstart-pack-book-titles
	In his 12 July 2005 spending review, the Chancellor announced an extension of the Bookstart scheme for the SR period 2005-08, to ensure that every 18 month and three-year-old child receives a Bookstart Plus or My Treasure Chest pack respectively. HMT are providing funding for this of £27 million in total across 2005-08.
	In addition, in the pre-Budget report 2006, the Chancellor announced that every child making the transition to primary school at age five and to secondary school at age 11 will also receive a book free of charge—in total three million books going direct to children to lift the reading standards of young people.

Child Care

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of families in Stockport  (a) are eligible for and  (b) have taken up (i) free and (ii) subsidised child care.

Beverley Hughes: At December 2005 the Office for National Statistics shows Stockport having a population of 5,900(1) three and four-year-olds, and the 2006 early years and annual schools censuses shows the number of part-time early education places funded by the free entitlement for three and four-year-olds in the Stockport area was 5,500(2).
	Data on eligibility and take-up of free or subsidised child care overall are not available centrally.
	Child care used by parents can be subsidised in a variety of ways, including the child care element of the working tax credit, local authority subsidies, Jobcentre Plus new deals, care to learn, learner support funds and NHS child care allowances.
	(1) ONS population estimates are aggregated to age groupings of at least five years. Figures based on a single year of age at the sub-national level are therefore of limited reliability.
	(2) The number of children benefiting from some form of free early education can exceed the number of free part-time early education places taken up by children as a place may be taken up by more than one child.

Children Act

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were referred to children's services in each year since 1996 under  (a) Section 47 and  (b) Section 17 of the Children Act 1989.

Beverley Hughes: Information on referrals to children's services and section 47 enquiries are collected annually on the Child Protection Register survey (CPR3). Data were first collected in 2001 but the referrals data were not thought to be reliable in that first year of collection. Information for the years available is shown in the following table .
	The CPR3 defines a referral as a request for services to be provided by the local authority. A referral can be made by a professional from one of many different agencies (typically in the health and education sectors) or from any other source, including self-referral. The survey does not provide the reason for the referral.
	Where there is suspicion that a child may be suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, local authorities are required to make enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 to establish whether there is a need for action to safeguard or promote the child's welfare.
	
		
			  Number of referrals and section 47 enquiries( 1) 
			  Years ending 31 March  All referrals during year  Children subject to s.47 enquiries in the year( 2) 
			 2001 not available 80,100 
			 2002 569,400 69,900 
			 2003 570,200 65,000 
			 2004 572,700 72,100 
			 2005 552,000 68,500 
			 2006 569,300 71,800 
			 (1) Numbers in this table include unborn children. 
			 (2) Data for 2002 and 2003 are estimates that take account of missing data.

Early Years Care

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how allocation of the free early years entitlement to local authorities in England takes account of  (a) regional and  (b) local differences in the cost of providing childcare.

Beverley Hughes: Each local authority's total dedicated schools grant (DSG) for 2006-07 was calculated by multiplying its full-time equivalent pupil numbers (aged three-15) from the January 2006 pupil count by its DSG guaranteed unit of funding (which is unchanged from that set in December 2005 and is available on Teachernet at:
	www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9405).
	The DSG guaranteed unit of funding for 2006-07 was based on actual spend per pupil in 2005-06, with a basic increase of 5 per cent. per pupil (5.1 per cent. for London authorities) and headroom allocated to reflect new priorities (including £82 million early years expansion).
	For those authorities below 90 per cent. participation for their three-year-olds in January 2006, the number of three-year-olds for funding purposes was brought up to 90 per cent. of the projected population.
	The formula used to calculate schools formula spending share for 2005-06 and previous years took account of the differences in the cost of providing childcare at in different local authorities. Of the £2.886 billion Under-5 Schools FSS for 2005-06
	approximately:
	£138 million (or 5 per cent. of the total) was distributed on the basis of the area cost adjustment for areas where it costs more to recruit and retain staff; and
	£319 million (or 11 per cent. of the total) was distributed on the basis of an index of pupils with additional educational needs.
	Since the formula for DSG starts from local authorities' actual spending on education for 2005-06, that will reflect the different local circumstances and variations in the cost of provision. The £82 million extra for the extension from 33 to 38 weeks was distributed on the basis of the number of full-time equivalent children in private, voluntary and independent settings (since pupils in maintained settings already received 38 weeks'free provision), weighted for area costs. Full details can be found in the guaranteed unit of funding model at:
	www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9405.
	It is up to local authorities—in conjunction with their schools forum—to decide how to allocate their DSG between age groups and types of setting.
	The current review of school funding will consider the funding of the free entitlement for nursery education. Following on from that, we will be issuing a consultation document in the spring.

Free Fruit

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils received free fruit in the Hartlepool constituency in each year since 1995.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	We supply Hartlepool local authority schools (rather than Hartlepool constituency) and all 31 eligible schools participate in the school fruit and vegetable scheme. Supply of fruit commenced after Easter 2004 and 4,421 pupils aged four to six years took part. The numbers of pupils participating have stayed relatively stable. This term 4,168 pupils are currently receiving free fruit.

Integrated Children's System Report

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will publish the report commissioned by his Department on The Integrated Children's System: An Evaluation of the Practice, Process and Consequences of the ICS in CSSRs.

Beverley Hughes: Yes. The draft of this report is currently being peer-reviewed, and it will be published once the report has been completed.

Learning and Skills Council

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on travel expenses for staff by the Learning and Skills Council in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Bill Rammell: The payment of travelling expenses to the Learning and Skills Council's staff is an operational matter. Mark Haysom, the Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council, has write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 9 January 2007:
	Further to your recent question to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on how much was spent on travel expenses for staff by the Learning and Skills Council in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006,1 can provide the following information.
	The Learning and Skills Council produces figures on a financial year basis, 1 April to 31 March, and this has been used here. 2006-2007 financial year has not yet completed but I have quoted figures for the eight months complete at the time of writing.
	The Learning and Skills Council's expenditure on staff travel expenses can be analysed as follows:
	
		
			  Description  1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 (12 Months)  1 April 2006 to 30 November 2006 (8 Months) 
			 Total staff travel and subsistence expenses (£ million) (1)7.999 5.363 
			 Number of expense claims therein 26,406 13,765 
			 Average number of claims per month 2,200 1,720 
			 Average claim amount (£) 144 148 
			 (1)As per note 7a of the LSC's financial statements' travel and subsistence-staff expenses 
		
	
	Purchased rail travel, vehicle leasing and hotel bookings make up the majority of the difference between the expense claims and the total staff travel and subsistence expenses. I hope that you find this information helpful.

Nursery Schools: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many mainstream nursery providers there were in the Coventry area in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2005.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 8 January 2007
	Information is not collected in the form requested.
	The available information on child care providers is shown in tables 1 and 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number( 1)  of registered child care providers for children under eight years of age by type of care—Coventry local authority area—position at 31 March 2005 
			  Type of care  2005 
			 Full day care 90 
			 Sessional day care 40 
			 Child minders 500 
			 Out of school day care 50 
			 Crèche day care 40 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100.  Source: Ofsted 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number( 1)  of day care providers for children under eight years of age by type of provider—Coventry local authority area—position at 31 March 1997 
			  Type of provider  1997 
			 Day nurseries 90 
			 Playgroups and pre-schools 100 
			 Child minders 700 
			 Out of school clubs 10 
			 Holiday schemes 10 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100.  Source: Children's Day Care Facilities Survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Number( 1)  of registered child care places for children under eight years of age by type of care—Coventry local authority area—position at 31 March 2005 
			  Type of care  2005 
			 Full day care 3,600 
			 Sessional day care 1,100 
			 Child minders 2,500 
			 Out of school day care 1,700 
			 Crèche day care 500 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100.  Source: Ofsted 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Number( 1)  of day care places for children under eight years of age by type of provider—Coventry local authority area—position at 31 March 1997 
			  Type of provider  1997 
			 Day nurseries 2,200 
			 Playgroups and pre-schools 2,300 
			 Child minders 2,300 
			 Out of school clubs 200 
			 Holiday schemes 400 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100.  Source: Children's Day Care Facilities Survey. 
		
	
	However, it is also important to take in to account change in the numbers of places available. The information is given in tables 3 and 4.
	Local authorities were responsible for the registration and inspection of children's day care facilities until these responsibilities were transferred to Ofsted in September 2001. The figures for 2005 were derived from the Ofsted database of registered child care providers. The figures for 1997 were derived from the Children's Day Care Facilities Survey, which was discontinued in 2001. Therefore the figures for child care providers for 2005 are not directly comparable with the day care figures for 1997.
	With the introduction of the National Day Care Standards and the transfer of responsibilities for registration and inspection of child care providers from local authority social service departments to Ofsted in September 2001, child care places were classified according to the type of day care provided: full day care, sessional day care, child minder, out of school day care or crèche day care. Ofsted has produced figures based on this classification on a quarterly basis from March 2003. Its latest figures were published in its report "Registered Childcare Providers and Places, September 2006", which is available on its website:
	www.ofsted.gov.uk/.
	Up until March 2001, child care providers were classified according to the type of provider: day nurseries, playgroups and pre-schools, child minders, out of school clubs and holiday schemes. Figures based on this classification were published in a series of Statistical Bulletins, which are available from the Department's website:
	www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics.

Respite Care Placements

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of disabled children in  (a) Stockport and  (b) England used respite care home placements in (i) 2000 and (ii) 2005.

Parmjit Dhanda: This information is not collected centrally.

Serious Case Reviews

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many serious case reviews were conducted in each year since 1996.

Beverley Hughes: The Child Protection Database, maintained by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, indicates that in 2003-04, 78 cases were the subject of a serious case review (SCR). In 2004-05 there were 82 cases. Data for 2005-06 are not yet available. Data for 2000-03 are being obtained from the Commission and I shall write to the hon. Member when these have been received. Comparable data are not available prior to 2000.

Specialised Diplomas

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to encourage the taking of courses leading to specialised diplomas in schools, higher education institutions and colleges; and what steps he is taking to improve the acceptability of such qualifications to employers.

Alan Johnson: Schools, colleges, higher education institutions and employers, have all been involved in the design of Diplomas, through the Diploma Development Partnerships, and will continue to be critical to the success of the roll-out.
	My Department has a comprehensive programme of communications about Diplomas, targeting employers, schools and colleges, training providers, Higher Education institutions as well as young people and parents.
	In November we announced the appointment of Diploma Champions to promote this development in the sectors where they have expertise; industry, schools and Higher Education.

Youth Opportunity Card

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on progress on the establishment of the Youth Opportunity Card.

Beverley Hughes: Good progress is being made in establishing the Youth Opportunity Card pilots. We have been working closely with the 10 pilot local authorities to develop a workable delivery model and to identify what can be achieved and by when. We will be clearer about what our next steps will be once this work is complete early this year.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

BAE Systems

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which BAe Systems export contracts have been guaranteed by the Export Credits Guarantee Department since 1997; and what the  (a) country of destination,  (b) sums insured and  (c) product or programme was in each case.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 8 January 2007
	ECGD has provided support in respect of the following export contracts won by BAE Systems since it was formed as a company in November 1999:
	
		
			   Market  Project Name  ECGD product type and sum insured 
			 2000 Saudi Arabia Al Yamamah Contract of indemnity 
			  South Africa South African defence package (SADP) Buyer credit, £l,679.9 million 
			 2001 Saudi Arabia Al Yamamah Contract of indemnity 
			 2002 Romania Surveillance Vehicles Buyer Credit, £4.3 million 
			  Saudi Arabia Al Yamamah Contract of indemnity 
			 2003 Romania Refurbishment of frigates Buyer credit, £106.03 million 
			  Saudi Arabia Al Yamamah Contract of indemnity 
			 2004 Saudi Arabia Al Yamamah Contract of indemnity 
			 2005 Saudi Arabia Al Yamamah Contract of indemnity 
			 2006 Saudi Arabia Al Yamamah Contract of indemnity 
		
	
	One other export contract was supported by ECGD during this period but its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial position of the parties involved.
	Details of "sums insured" in relation to the Al Yamamah defence programme are not provided as disclosure of such information would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of ECGD and BAE Systems.

BAE Systems

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any officials from his Department had any discussions with any officials from the Solicitor-General's Department on the recent decision by the Serious Fraud Office not to pursue the investigation into BAE Systems and its aircraft contract with Saudi Arabia.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 8 January 2007
	No such discussions have taken place.

Compensation Payments

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much in compensation payments was paid by his Department in 2005-06; and what the reason was for each payment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DTI made compensation payments totalling £51,877.53 in 2005-06. There were 62 compensation payments within this total, grouped as follows:
	26 compensation payments for loss or damage to personal property totalling £4,927.28
	10 compensation payments for late payment of pension entitlement, pension losses or poor service totalling £11,360.31
	25 compensation payments relating to tribunal and Ombudsman awards, tribunal attendance costs, discrimination claims and contractual issues totalling £19,960.94
	One compensation payment in accordance with regulations on making payments for dismissal on grounds of inefficiency of £15,629

Departmental Computer Data

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any of his Department's  (a) computer data and  (b) computer backup data are stored with online data storage providers.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI does not store any data with online storage providers. All data are stored on devices attached to DTI systems that are either located on DTI sites or on sites belonging to our outsourcing partner. These sites are all in the United Kingdom and have been approved as sufficiently secure to hold Government data to restricted level.

Departmental Computer Data

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any of his Department's  (a) computer data and  (b) computer backup data are stored outside the United Kingdom.

Jim Fitzpatrick: No computer data belonging to the DTI are stored outside the United Kingdom. No computer backup data belonging to the DTI are stored outside the United Kingdom.

Departmental Equipment

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any corrupt data has been detected on his Department's computer systems.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Data corruption has been detected on Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) computer systems. Analysis of the circumstances leading to such events indicates two main causes: hardware failure; and software that does not conform with the specified data structure. There are several methods available to the DTI to repair data corruption, with recovery of the data file from tape available as the last resort.

Departmental Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's expenditure was on foreign travel including accommodation in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DTI expenditure on foreign travel in 2005-06 was £5,601,629.
	Details of foreign travel expenditure for 1996-97 are not stored electronically and it would entail disproportionate cost to provide that data.

Energy Market

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what safeguards exist to protect small business consumers from mis-selling in the energy market.

Malcolm Wicks: As in general consumer law, regulatory protection in relation to mis-selling does not extend to the business market for gas and electricity. Small businesses that have been unable to resolve complaints with their supplier may seek assistance from the statutory consumer body, Energywatch, as well as seeking redress through the courts.

Equality Legislation

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Department has spent on implementing equality legislation since May 1997; and how many related staff posts have been created in that period.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is not available in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Costs are not allocated directly to the implementation of equality legislation.

Labour Camps: China

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanisms are in place for monitoring the commercial output of labour camps in China for import to the UK.

Ian McCartney: The Foreign Prison-Made Goods Act 1897 prohibits the import into the UK of goods made in any foreign prison or like establishment. The Act enables the seizure of such goods and prosecution of importers. However, the Act can be enforced only if evidence is supplied proving the foreign prison-made origin of goods. No seizures or prosecutions have resulted in recent years, although the Government remain willing to act upon any evidence supplied to them.

Post Office Closures

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when those post offices which are to close under the existing proposals will be informed; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Following national public consultations, Her Majesty's Government will reach final decisions on their future strategy for the post office network and Post Office Ltd will then develop detailed area proposals for post office closures and other changes to service provision.

Post Office Funding

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the £2 billion investment spent on the Post Office Network since 1999 was spent, broken down by main budget heading.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The main elements of the Government support of around £2 billion to Post Office Ltd. since 1999 are:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Horizon IT project 480 
			 Support for the rural network to 2006 450 
			 Support for urban network reinvention 210 
			 Repayment of historic debt to Royal Mail (to April 2003) 726

Regional Development Agencies

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what overseas offices are maintained by each regional development agency (RDA); what the total cost to the public purse of each office was in each year since 2001; how much was allocated to each such office for 2006-07; how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time (i) UK-based and (ii) locally-engaged staff were employed by each RDA in each office in each year since 2001; and what assessment he has made of the impact of each office on the economies of the regions of each RDA.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 18 December 2006
	The following tables show the countries in which offices are maintained by the regional development agencies, the costs of running those offices, the numbers of full-time and part-time staff employed at those offices and the numbers of locally engaged and UK-based staff they employ. Due to the disproportionate cost of providing this data as far back as 2001, the tables cover the last two financial years only. UK Trade and Investment is currently working with the regional development agencies to review their representation overseas and maximise effectiveness, ensuring that they deliver what is best for the UK in the most coherent manner.
	
		
			  Costs in 2005-06 
			  £000 
			  RDA/Country  Advantage West Midlands  East of England  East Midlands  North West  One North East  South East England  South West England  Yorkshire Forward 
			 Australia (1)31 — (1)45 (2)55 (2)55 52 70 (2)55 
			 Belgium 99 — — — — — — — 
			 China — — — — 98 28 82 29 
			 France 122 — 60 — — 27 — — 
			 Germany 81 — 100 — 28 — — — 
			 India (1)64 — (1)40 — — — — — 
			 Japan (1)73 — (1)110 (3)158 183 70 398 (3)158 
			 Korea — — — — 75 50 — — 
			 Norway — — — — 33 — — — 
			 Sweden 81 — (1)80 — — — — — 
			 USA (1)505 180 (1)505 (2)364 (2)364 107 122 (2)364 
		
	
	
		
			  Allocation for 2006-07 
			  £000 
			  RDA/Country  Advantage West Midlands  East of England  East Midlands  North West  One North East  South East England  South West England  Yorkshire Forward 
			 Australia (1)24 — (1)45 (2)53 (2)53 65 70 (2)53 
			 Belgium 70 — — — — — — — 
			 China — — — — 87 32 80 104 
			 France 78 — 60 — — 80 — — 
			 Germany 61 — 100 — 19 — — — 
			 India (1)23 — (1)40 — — — — — 
			 Japan (1)67 — (1)110 (3)172 173 66 400 (3)172 
			 Korea — — — — 48 12 — — 
			 Norway — — — — 19 — — — 
			 Sweden 101 — 80 — — — — — 
			 USA (1)505 149 (1)505 (2)102 (2)102 170 125 (2)102 
		
	
	
		
			  Full-time or part-time staff in 2005-06 
			   Advantage West Midlands  East of England  East Midlands  North West 
			   Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time 
			 Australia — (1)1 — — — (1)1 (2)0.7 (2)1.3 
			 Belgium 1 — — — — — — — 
			 China — — — — — — — — 
			 France 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 Germany 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 India — (1)1 — — — (1)1 — — 
			 Japan (1)1 — — — (1)1 — (3)1 (3)1 
			 Korea — — — — — — — — 
			 Norway — — — — — — — — 
			 Sweden 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 USA (1)3.5 — 2 1 (1)3.5 — (2)4 — 
		
	
	
		
			   One North East  South East England  South West England  Yorkshire Forward 
			   Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time 
			 Australia (2)0.7 (2)1.3 — 1 1 — (2)0.7 (2)1.3 
			 Belgium — — — — — — — — 
			 China 3 — — 1 2 — 2 — 
			 France — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Germany — 1 — — — — — — 
			 India — — — — — — — — 
			 Japan 2 1 — 2 4 — (3)1 (3)1 
			 Korea — 1 — 1 — — — — 
			 Norway — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Sweden — — — — — — — — 
			 USA (2)4 — — 5 2 — (2)4 — 
		
	
	
		
			  Full-time or part-time staff in 2006-07 
			   Advantage West Midlands  East of England  East Midlands  North West 
			   Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time 
			 Australia (1)1 — — — — (1)1 (2)0.7 (2)1.3 
			 Belgium 1 — — — — — — — 
			 China — — — — — — — — 
			 France 1 — — — — 2 — — 
			 Germany 1 — — — — 2 — — 
			 India (1)1 — — — — (1)1 — — 
			 Japan (1)2 — — — (1)1 — (3)1 (3)1.5 
			 Korea — — — — — — — — 
			 Norway — — — — — — — — 
			 Sweden 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 USA (1)3.5 — 1 1 (1)3.5 — (2)4.3 (2)0.7 
		
	
	
		
			   One North East  South East England  South West England  Yorkshire Forward 
			   Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time 
			 Australia (2)0.7 (2)1.3 — 1 1 — (2)0.7 (2)1.3 
			 Belgium — — — — — — — — 
			 China 3 — — 1 2 — 2 — 
			 France — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Germany — 1 — — — — — — 
			 India — — — — — — — — 
			 Japan 2 1 — 2 4 — (3)1 (3)1.5 
			 Korea — 1 — 1 — — —  
			 Norway — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Sweden — — — — — — — — 
			 USA (2)4.3 (2)0.7 — 5 2 — (2)4.3 (2)0.7 
			 (1) Collaboration between Advantage West Midlands and East Midlands Development (2 )Collaboration between North West Development Agency, One North East and Yorkshire Forward. (3 )Collaboration between North West Development Agency and Yorkshire Forward. 
		
	
	
		
			  RDA/Country  2005-06  2006-07 
			  East Midlands Development Agency   
			 France — 1 
			 Germany — 1 
			
			  One North East   
			 Norway 1 1 
		
	
	North West, One North East and Yorkshire Forward have collaborated to have one UK based member of staff in the USA in 2006-07. All other staff are locally engaged.
	
		
			  London Development Agency 2006-07 
			   China 
			 Allocation 82 
			 Full-time 4 
			 Part-time 1 
			 Locally engaged 4 
			 UK-based 1

Regional Development Agencies

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what overseas offices regional development agencies have in place; how much each cost in 2005-06; and where each is located.

Margaret Hodge: The following table gives details of the Regional Development Agencies overseas offices by country and the annual costs for 2005-06; these are reviewed annually. The London Development Agency has this year set up an office in China but there are no related costs for 2005-06. This expenditure is kept under continuous review by the RDAs. A joint review of UK representation overseas by UKTI and the RDAs is under way and we are hoping to complete that review by September 2007.
	
		
			  Annual costs for 2005-06 in £000 
			  RDA/  Country  Advantage West Midlands  East of England  East Midlands  North West  One North East  South East England  South West England  Yorkshire Forward 
			 Australia (1)31 — (1)45 (2)55 (2)55 52 70 (2)55 
			 Belgium 99 — — — — — — — 
			 China — — — — 98 28 82 29 
			 France 122 — 60 — — 27 — — 
			 Germany 81 — 100 — 28 — — — 
			 India (1)64 — (1)40 — — — — — 
			 Japan (1)73 — (1)110 (3)158 183 70 398 (3)158 
			 Korea — — — — 75 50 — — 
			 Norway — — — — 33 — — — 
			 Sweden 81 — (1)80 — — — — — 
			 USA (1)505 180 (1)505 (2)364 (2)364 107 122 (2)364 
			 (1 )Collaboration between Advantage West Midlands and East Midlands Development Agency. (2 )Collaboration between North West Development Agency, One North East and Yorkshire Forward. (3 )Collaboration between North West Development Agency and Yorkshire Forward.

Sorting Offices

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with  (a) Royal Mail management and  (b) the Communication Workers Union on the proposal to shut Gloucester and Reading sorting offices.

Jim Fitzpatrick: No discussions have taken place on this matter. This is an operational matter for which Royal Mail has direct responsibility.

VAT-free Websites

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of independent retailers which have been put out of business as a result of competition from VAT- free websites; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not held centrally.
	Causes of failure for all bankruptcy orders and company compulsory liquidations in England and Wales are being captured electronically for all new cases from October 2006, however the classification being used is not sufficiently detailed to identify "competition from VAT-free websites" as a cause.
	The industry classification of bankruptcy and company liquidation cases identifies sub-groups of the retail sector, but not their status in terms of whether they are independent retailers.
	The Insolvency Service publishes quarterly statistics on insolvencies; the latest are for quarter 3 2006 and may be viewed here:
	http://www.insolvencygov.uk/otherinformiation/statistics/insolv.htm